A beautifully designed 2006 addition to the house created massive construction upheaval and necessitated a revision of Bob and Karen Olson’s garden for the third time in the past 25 years. A limestone wall rises from a new bluestone patio to a garden filled with colorful annuals and small hostas cascading over the edge.

“We never divide our hostas,” Bob says. This necessitates rearranging, revising and sometimes even removing to maintain the lovely balance found in this typical-size urban yard. Over 250 varieties of hosta grow here. Many are readily available from garden centers, while others are extremely rare, gathered in the wilds of Japan with the aid of professional plant hunters.

Bob points out the huge echinops (globe thistle) plants from his mother’s garden, the twisted old lilac bush in the corner, elegantly trimmed to perfection by Karen, and three of his favorite plants, which he says were gifts from special friends. “They cost me nothing but they are very dear.” They include Hosta ‘Ground Sulphur’, H. ‘Brazen Hussey’ and H. ‘Margrit Anna’.

The Olsons expand their garden with pots filled with lilies, perennials, annuals and even hostas. This beautiful space is an inspiration to every gardener faced with the challenge of gardening in a typical urban setting.