EPISODE · May 16, 2026 · 1H 12M
Body Shop Botanist: Al Ritchey of Al's Auto Body & Arboretum
from Hosta La Vista · host Betsy Peterson and Mandy Olson | Hosta Shade Gardening Podcast
Only hosta people would find this perfectly normal. Pull into a working auto body shop on a back road in Walworth, Wisconsin — the smell of primer in the air, cars in the bays — and then walk around back to discover one of the most breathtaking hosta arboretums in the Midwest. That's exactly what awaits at Al's Auto Body & Arboretum (hostafest.net), where owner and self-described "owner, operator, weeder, waterer, planter, potter, and slug-slayer" Al Ritchey has spent over three decades quietly building a five-acre hosta paradise beneath a canopy of oak, hickory, and walnut trees.This might be our quirkiest episode yet — and that is really saying something for a hosta podcast. But here's the thing: this is exactly what hosta people do. They carve out a niche in the most unlikely of places, and before you know it, 500+ varieties are growing behind the shop and Master Gardeners are busing in from across the region.Al is a natural conversationalist with a great story — a lifelong car guy who started planting hostas in 1991 just to landscape around his shop, and never stopped. Today, he calls the arboretum his therapy: "If I get frustrated in the shop, I take it out on the weeds."His first introduction, Compadre, mutated from the Emerald Tiara family over 20 years ago after contact with a pre-emergent herbicide. Al watched it carefully for years to make sure it held true, and named it Compadre — a "friendship plant" — before finally releasing it for sale. He waited nearly 20 years to introduce it, which tells you everything you need to know about this man's patience and his standards. But the showstopper? Burlesque — a sport of the beloved Strip Tease hosta, and Al's most spectacular introduction yet. Worth serious money in the hosta world, Burlesque cannot be tissue cultured, which means the only people who own it got it directly from Al himself. This is a collector's plant, full stop.If you're anywhere near the Lake Geneva area this spring, mark your calendar: Hosta Fest 2025 — celebrating 25 years — runs May 24–25 from 9am–5pm, May 26 (Memorial Day) from 9am–2pm, and May 31 & June 1 from 9am–5pm. Admission and parking are free, and there are over 450 hosta varieties on display with at least 175 for sale, including large specimen plants. No one leaves empty-handed.📍 Al's Auto Body & Arboretum | W6866 N Walworth Rd, Walworth, WI | hostafest.net | (262) 275-2800
What this episode covers
Only hosta people would find this perfectly normal. Pull into a working auto body shop on a back road in Walworth, Wisconsin — the smell of primer in the air, cars in the bays — and then walk around back to discover one of the most breathtaking hosta arboretums in the Midwest. That's exactly what awaits at Al's Auto Body & Arboretum (hostafest.net), where owner and self-described "owner, operator, weeder, waterer, planter, potter, and slug-slayer" Al Ritchey has spent over three decades quietly building a five-acre hosta paradise beneath a canopy of oak, hickory, and walnut trees.This might be our quirkiest episode yet — and that is really saying something for a hosta podcast. But here's the thing: this is exactly what hosta people do. They carve out a niche in the most unlikely of places, and before you know it, 500+ varieties are growing behind the shop and Master Gardeners are busing in from across the region.Al is a natural conversationalist with a great story — a lifelong car guy who started planting hostas in 1991 just to landscape around his shop, and never stopped. Today, he calls the arboretum his therapy: "If I get frustrated in the shop, I take it out on the weeds."His first introduction, Compadre, mutated from the Emerald Tiara family over 20 years ago after contact with a pre-emergent herbicide. Al watched it carefully for years to make sure it held true, and named it Compadre — a "friendship plant" — before finally releasing it for sale. He waited nearly 20 years to introduce it, which tells you everything you need to know about this man's patience and his standards. But the showstopper? Burlesque — a sport of the beloved Strip Tease hosta, and Al's most spectacular introduction yet. Worth serious money in the hosta world, Burlesque cannot be tissue cultured, which means the only people who own it got it directly from Al himself. This is a collector's plant, full stop.If you're anywhere near the Lake Geneva area this spring, mark your calendar: Hosta Fest 2025 — celebrating 25 years — runs May 24–25 from 9am–5pm, May 26 (Memorial Day) from 9am–2pm, and May 31 & June 1 from 9am–5pm. Admission and parking are free, and there are over 450 hosta varieties on display with at least 175 for sale, including large specimen plants. No one leaves empty-handed.📍 Al's Auto Body & Arboretum | W6866 N Walworth Rd, Walworth, WI | hostafest.net | (262) 275-2800
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Body Shop Botanist: Al Ritchey of Al's Auto Body & Arboretum
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