Hostas are so familiar, you probably think as I did that you know plenty about them. Yet in a conversation the other afternoon with Tony Avent, founder of Plant Delights Nursery in North Carolina and a longtime hosta breeder, it was one hosta "aha" after another for me. 

Ever wonder, for instance, why some blue hostas turn dull by high summer, or certain yellow and variegated varieties fade worse than others? Or did you know that 'Halcyon' (a blue hosta) has produced all the "sports" or mutations above, and more? Get to know our most beloved shade-garden standby more intimately than ever before in this new story (plus a podcast).

my hailstone rhubarb cookoff recipes

When life deals you lemons -- well, maybe not lemons, but battered, shredded rhubarb, thanks to hail -- make rhubarb compote, crumble and syrup, perhaps with an eye to using less sugar than usually called for in the process. That was the attitude here recently, and we did. My 2013 rhubarb story: before, after, and deliciously ready-to-eat.