Review of Green Hill Farm
February 1998
by Steven C. Chamberlain
105 Academy Street
Manlius, NY 13104
Steve_Chamberlain@isr.syr.edu
Green Hill Farm, Inc.
5715 Hideaway Drive
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
Phone (919) 309-0649
FAX (919) 383-4533
Owner: Bob and Nancy Solberg, Members AHS
This nursery has a modest yearly offering, and in the past I have purchased only two hostas from Green Hill Farm: H. 'September Sun' and H. 'Ultraviolet Light'. Both of these plants are flourishing in my garden. I've taken advantage of some very reasonable prices on hard-to-find cultivars for my order this year.
The annual hosta catalog of Green Hill Farm is published as a full-color newspaper, "The Green Hill Gossip", which allows Bob and Nancy to provide extensive information about some of the cultivars they are offering as well as articles on hosta cultivation. This year, 35 cultivars are offered for sale. They are grouped into four categories: 'Our Introductions' - 12 cultivars; 'Other Introductions' - 11 cultivars; 'Rarities' - 6 cultivars; and 'Just Good Garden Plants' - 6 cultivars. Since there are so few, I'll list them all... Under 'Our Introductions', H. 'Cody', H. 'Fried Bananas', H. 'Fried Green Tomatoes', H. 'Guacamole', H. 'Hoosier Harmony', H. 'Moongate Flying Saucer', H. 'Moongate Little Dipper', H. 'Saint Elmo's Fire', H. 'September Sun', H. 'Shiny Penny', and H. 'Sweet Sunshine' are offered. Under 'Other Introductions', H. 'Dee's Golden Jewel', H. 'Dragon Wings', H. 'Golden Teacup', H. 'Guardian Angel', H. 'Lakeside Delight', H. 'Lakeside Kaleidoscope', H. 'Leading Lady', H. 'Phantom', H. 'Rhapsody in Blue', H. 'Spotlight', and H. 'Wolverine' are offered. Under 'Rarities', H. 'Komodo Dragon', H. 'Moon Waves', H. 'Salute', H. 'Spilt Milk', H. 'Sum It Up', and H. 'Warwick Edge' are offered. Many of these are not widely available and some have never been offered before. The 'Just Good Garden Plants' are H. 'Blue Betty Lou', H. 'June', H. 'Little Wonder', H. 'Paul's Glory', H. 'Regal Splendor', and H. 'Sagae.
Hosta prices are very reasonable for the size plants offered. Most, probably all, of these plants are mature tc plants and those I received were large, multidivision clumps. Prices range from $10 for H. 'Little Wonder' to $75 for H. 'Sweet Sunshine', H. 'Guardian Angel', H. 'Lakeside Kaleidoscope', H. 'Leading Lady', and H. 'Rhapsody in Blue'. Shipping is a flat rate, independent of the number of plants. Credit cards are accepted.
Hostas are shipped bare root and arrive at the time requested. The two clumps I purchased were totally happy upon arrival and didn't seem to notice they had moved from North Carolina to New York.
This is a small, high quality, specialty nursery that merits your attention. The "Green Hill Gossip" alone is worth having, even if you don't buy hostas by mail.
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