With the site laid out, the purchasing and planting began. A three-year (three-phase) planting scheme was created to ready the garden for nomination as a National Display Garden. Sources for hostas and companion plants were identified, both through purchase and donatation (ensuring that all plantings were disease-free). Some members created holding beds in their own gardens, and hosta acquisition began in 2011, the year before planting the site would commence. Arboretum staff and volunteers began preparing the sites by removing existing groundcovers and preparing the soil. It should be noted that all purchases were funded by the Delaware Valley Hosta Society, with a generous donation from the AHS Region One, of which we are a member.

 

In Phase One the focus was on creating the longest border along Latch's Lane, to stretch ultimately to about 170 feet long. The initial planting included 183 hostas comprising 51 cultivars. Work continued on removing undesired groundcover and undergrowth shrubbery. Phase Two saw the extension of the long border by about 100 feet, reaching nearly to the corner of Latch's and Lapsley Lanes. As well, two significant island beds were created. One of these includes a display of small and mini hostas (including many of the "mouse" hostas) around the root flare of an aging Paulownia tree. Opposite the trunk from the mini display, an antique farmer's fire alarm suggested a theme, and so around it are fiery hostas including 'Prairie Fire' and 'Fire Island'. A donated Cornus florida 'Firebird' also finds its new home here. Phase Two brought the number of clumps to 339, comprising 106 cultivars.

 

While no garden is ever truly completed, Phase Three, planted in 2014, saw the culmination of our original scheme. The garden was extended over 90 feet around the corner of Lapsley Lane, with a semicircular garden path leading between the plantings at the corner. The entrance of the path is flanked by 'Grand Canyon' specimens, with the exit marked by 'Lakeside Paisley Print'. And although Mrs. Barnes reportedly forbade the use of any gold-foliaged plants in her garden, we felt no such constraint in planting a circular bed with a mass planting of the green-and-gold variegated H. 'Rainforest Sunrise'. As submitted to the American Hosta Society, the garden now contains about 400 hostas comprising 135 different cultivars.

 

The garden was certified by the AHS as a National Display Garden in April, 2015. The dedication plaque was unveiled at a reception on July 23, 2015.