A Plant by Any Other Name

Last week I wrote about finding a lily of the valley plant coming up in just about the worst part of the yard. In that post I showed a photo of it coming up next to the fencing under the deck. 


I was at my parent's house last weekend and pointed out the lily of the valley growing next to their porch. Those were the plants I got my starts from, except those plants had solid leaves and new buds.  

So yesterday I was out back and notice the plant I'd put in the blog was unfurling. I realized that it was not lily of the valley, but a variegated hosta. 

I pulled the clay pots away from the fence and discovered that the lily of the valley were coming up in an even worse part of my yard - under the deck and behind the fencing. They are in the upper right of this photo, just behind the fence.

Here you can see their solid leaves and little buds. That pretty much resolves the dilemma of transplanting the lily of the valley, since I can't get behind the fence and those plants spread with underground runners. Someday they may emerge on the other side of the fence.


The hosta may get moved where it has some space to grow. Was there a reason for planting them there in the first place? They need shade and this corner seemed the best place at the time.