Don and Gail Dean’s garden reflects Don’s passion—hybridizing.

The number of cultivars and species on this 1.25-acre lot, purchased in 1987, has grown from 800 to more than 2,000. In some of the gardens, you will find hostas registered by Don intermixed with hostas introduced by others. Companion plants are interspersed throughout the display beds.

Tall cedars guard the seedling beds near the front entry. Plants labeled with a combination of numbers and letters are unnamed seedlings still under evaluation or planted for landscape value. Notice one interesting specimen after another as you wander the paths that curve and snake throughout the property. Some beds feature one- to three-year-old seedlings planted in rows, waiting for a final evaluation before being incorporated into the display beds…or doomed for the compost pile. Other beds contain cultivars rowed out for donations to societies and clubs for fundraising purposes.

Daylilies grow in the sunnier spaces. From within a fenced garden, blueberry bushes provide tasty treats for the family. Gail enjoys growing herbs and flowers for cutting. In the spring, wildflowers abound.

Looking outward through the windows of their home, the Deans enjoy the shape, form and texture of their extensive gardens. And hosta aficionados are thankful for Don’s passion!