While not as showy as many of my flowers I have to almost grudgingly admit that the HOSTAS in my gardens may be THE most reliable perennial I grow. Known as a hardy and dependable herbaceous perennial with beautiful foliage, the HOSTA is extremely easy to grow, does well in shaded areas and comes in an almost unlimited variety of shapes, colors, sizes and textures.

I occasionally have trouble w/ deer nibbling on my HOSTAS before the snow completely covers them. Turns out it is not only deer who eat these plants. In Japan, HOSTAS are called 'urui' and are commonly consumed. The parts eaten and the manner of preparation differ depending on the species- in some cases it is the shoots, others the leaf petiole, others the whole leaf. Younger parts are generally preferred as being more tender than older parts.... the flowers are also edible.

In the image seen here (taken on a clear summer morning) I was photographing the immature flowers of one of my favorite HOSTAS. The soft lavender color is really lovely and the vertical orientation of individual flowers on the horizontal stems made for such an interesting image. btw....I only photograph them....I don't eat them!