Barry Glick has been involved in the plant world since 1954, when at the young, impressionable age of 5, he witnessed Don Herbert (“Mr. Wizard” on TV) put a cutting of a plant in a glass of water only to sprout roots a few shows later. Barry replicated the experiment with his one of his mother’s prized Coleus plants, and as he watched the roots grow, knew that he was hooked for life.
Growing up in the 60s in Philadelphia, a Mecca of horticulture, Barry would hitchhike to Longwood Gardens before he was old enough to drive. In 1972 he realized there was just not enough room for him and his plants in the big city environment, so he bought 60 acres of a mountaintop in Greenbrier County West Virginia where he gave birth to Sunshine Farm & Gardens, started his plant collection, and has remained there since.
The collection now numbers more than 10,000 taxa, many unknown to cultivation. Several of these plants have been introduced to gardening in recent years. Barry exchanges seeds and plants with people at Botanic Gardens, nurseries and private gardens in virtually every country in the world.
I put out my first bird feeder of the season on Thanksgiving and got the party started. But there's more to feeding the birds...
You know the routine: I ring up my longtime friend Ken Druse on Skype each month and then we tackle your Urgent Garden Questions....
In a recent phone call, today’s guest, Tim Johnson, used the phrase “bio-productive gardens,” and it stopped me. What does he mean by that,...