Many who may have known me for some time might remember that my interest in gardening began when my Rosemary made us move from a Burnaby townhouse in 1986 (we owed no money) to a splendid house with a corner garden in Kerrisdale.

We were paying then a mortgage of $3600 a month so we could not afford the neighbourhood Japanese gardener, Harry Nomura for long.

Because the garden had a lot of shade, garden books stipulated I should have hostas. That is how I discovered hostas and ultimately became a card carrying member of the American Hosta Society. Many of the over 600 specimens I had in that Kerrisdale garden came from the US in my luggage wrapped between newspapers. After nine eleven I ceased in this exciting contraband.

If the roses in our smaller Kitsilano garden are to be defined I would say they are sumptuous, beautiful and striking but I am not sure I would call them elegant.

Hostas, particularly blue hostas are handsome and almost remind me shapes I might find at MOMA. The flowers in hostas are universally frowned upon (perhaps when compared to roses) even though the species hosta Hosta plantaginea (called the August Lily) has flowers that are surreally white and have a delightful fragrance.

I might state here that the flower stalks of hostas, elegantly called scapes have elegance and beauty in spades.