I keep hostas that's is not a secret. but I want to add diversity to my garden, and I don't want to upset my friends so my question is what other plant should I add to my small garden?, a plant compatible with Hostas.
If the hostas are doing well, then astilbes would make a good companion planting -- or ferns, if the spot is damp and shady. I also like the contrast between fat hosta leaves and the spiky leaves of an ornamental sedge or grass, a Siberian iris, or even a small bamboo like Pleioblastus viridistriatus. You can use these as vertical accents -- a single plant here or there, as opposed to the usual rule-of-thumb that you should plant perennials in groups to achieve a strong visual effect -- to break up the mostly horizontal lines of a planting of massed hostas. You can also get some cool color contrasts between, say, the blue-green or blue-gray of a hosta and the bright acid-yellow of Bowle's golden sedge (Carex elata 'Aurea') or the the grass Hakonechloa. (You can do the same thing in reverse and on reduced scale with a smallish, yellow-leaved hosta and black mondo grass, Ophiopogon.
great. thanks for your suggestions, but I want something growing every season with them I love to plant something and step back and allows Nature to take over.
Solomon's seal, various small-fine or tall ferns, primulas and my very favourite shady woodland plant: heleborus.
Lily-of-the-Valley as a ground cover. Also Trilliums would be nice for spring colour. Lamiastrum is good for a nice variegated look. All the growing season. Columbine are also nice for spring colour. I have Daylilies that bloom with my Hostas, so try that for summer blooms. Others have already been said. How small is your garden? Could you add a small Rhododendron or Azalea?
Biennial snapdragon works well next to my Hostas.. sorry no pix... all Hostas have winterized, though the deep purple snapdragons linger until the deep freeze.... they grow up to 85cm tall.
