Red Ginger and Hosta

We visited another camp ground nearby. While Gary went in to check on spaces I waited in the car. Sitting there I spotted a huge clump of red ginger, Alpinia purpurata, growing right beside our car. I got out to take a closer look. I was glad to see it wasn't killed by any heavy frosts in this area. Probably all the autumn leaves protect the clump over the winter.

The leaves are about two feet long and are lovely in shades of green and blue green. I could imagine using the leaves and flowers in a large and dramatic flower arrangement.

The flowers are also called ostrich plumes. The blossoms were easily 6 feet tall, probably reaching up to catch a bit of sunlight.

In the same flower bed I spotted some white edged hosta growing. There are lots of varieties of hosta which are mostly grown for their varying shades of foliage.

This is the flower sprouting from the leaves of the hosta above. It stood about three feet high. The flowers hang down but I lifted this one up to show you. Both of these plants were growing in heavily filtered shade close to a creek. Last night I fell asleep dreaming of shade gardens, hopefully in my future. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.