Hosta Grows in Granite

This past week the gospel reading at Sunday Mass included instructions known to every gardener.

The story Jesus told was that without adequate soil a seed will not flourish.

Jesus said, “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 

“ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.  But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 

“Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Here is a story about a seed that found a home in granite.

House Built on Granite

My house is built on granite so stone surrounds us.

It is not easy to garden on this property which is three quarters of an acre.

When the house was built in 1948 the contractor brought in plenty of soil, especially for the front and back lawn. [below]

The rock is mostly on the side of the house and along the driveway.

Over the years I have gardened with great success and much happiness.

Hosta ‘Black Beauty’

Recently I identified a large dark green hosta, with rippled leaves. It has grown over the years right in an area of granite.

The Hosta, a seedling of Hosta ‘Black Beauty’, is gorgeous in the granite. [below]

You can see the granite fron the low mid point to the far right.

The plant sits right in the middle.

Over time this large hosta variety becomes a large plant, measuring forty-eight by thirty inches.

It is close to that size now.

Hosta ‘Black Beauty‘ comes to us from Kate Carpenter (1984).

I have a small patch of this variety quite near this ledge.

Evidently, many years ago, one of its seeds found a great home, right in the ledge.

Today it still grows there. It found enough soil to become such a marvelous treat for the eyes of the gardener and any visitor.