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| Below - Hosta 'Antioch' & Hosta 'Strip Tease' 18 September 2026 |
Sometimes I
think that nature is not all that sophisticated. When tourists go to Mexico
many photograph the neat piles of fruits or vegetables in markets and often
mention how symmetrical they are.
I tend to
believe that in humans asymmetry is an indication of sophistication. Why must
the headlights in cars have to be exactly one both sides?
Thanks to my
Rosemary’s interest in gardening she approved of my sudden love for hostas
around 1987. I became a member of the American Hosta Society soon after. In
conventions judges eliminated hostas with asymmetrical leaves in any
competition. Somewhat that all changed in 1991 when Hosta ‘Strip Tease’ was
introduced. This hosta featured two tiny white lines around the middle that
were never the same. To me this was the first asymmetrical hosta.
Today as I
was walking around the garden I noticed my very large Hosta ‘Antioch’(also
named Moerheim). It is an old faithful hosta that I have had since the late
1980s and is the one in the pot outside my garden gate door.
I could not
resist scanning one very unsymmetrical one with one of Strip Tease.
Some years
ago I wrote an essay for asymmetry in a very good photographic web page called
Zone Zero. Here it is.
On the other hand these leaves today of Rosa 'Emily Carr' display fine asymmetry.
