There are about 40 different species of hostas which are native to Japan, China, and Korea. They were brought to the U.S. in the 19th century and there are now about 7,000 named cultivars.
Hosta ‘Liberty’ was introduced by J. Machen, Jr. in 2000. A sport of H. ‘Sagae’, it has a moderate growth rate and reaches a height of about 39 inches with a width of also 39 inches. See the full characteristics in the Hosta Treasury.

This year’s bus trip took us to Minnesota Hosta Society Sale, Savory’s Garden, Kelly and Kelly Nursery, and Dragonfly Gardens. We had a good turnout for the bus tour with 22 people from 17 families riding the bus. We had 7 other members who drove themselves for various reasons (some rode with each other).

Once again, we ‘filled the bus’ cargo hold and all seemed to have a great time. Photos below show our happy shoppers, the bus load of hostas, and Kyle, our lovely bus driver who also got into the spirit of it and bought some hostas!   In the group photo, we are missing one of our bus riders.  At Kelly and Kelly Nursery, Mr. Kelley, who is 80ish and the last of the family, provided history and instructions. His sign was cute and said “Welcome Wisconsin Hosta Nuts” which we loved (also loved the 20% discount on hostas)!

Thank you, Laurel, for the pictures and information for this post!