Plant Delights Nursery, Inc.
at Juniper Level Botanic Gardens
9241 Sauls Road
Raleigh, NC 27603
(919) 772-4794
FAX (919) 662-0370
office@plantdel.com
http://www.plantdel.com
Catalog - "10 stamps or a box of chocolates"
Owner: Tony Avent, Member AHS
In the past I have purchased the following hostas from Plant Delights:
All of these are growing just fine in my garden. I'm still working my way from the first row of boxes to the second row of boxes in the catalog to get my order ready for this year (see below).
The Plant Delights catalog is a a work of literature (comedy) as well as a valuable source of information and a price list. Its 57 pages are bound in a color cover that has a Pittman cartoon on the front entitled "It's not easy being variegated!" and a full-page ad for the 'Psychic Plant Friends Network" on the back (only $2,995.00 per minute). There are 10 pages of high quality color photographs of plants, including some I'd not seen ever before. The alphabetical listing of hostas species and cultivars includes 187 entries. This year's catalog includes Tony Avent introductions such as H. 'Obsession', H. 'Squash Casserole', and H. 'Tattoo' as well as some others not commonly available elsewhere H. 'Embroidery', H. 'Flame Stitch', H. 'Delta Dawn', and H. 'Komodo Dragon'. I find the paragraph descriptions particularly helpful in becoming more familiar with an unfamiliar hosta. Each entry has two boxes. The instructions are: "...the far left column of boxes is to be checked for the plants that you plan to order as you make your first trip thru the catalog. Once you get to the end and realize that you have blown your budget, then go back to the beginning, and using the right hand column of boxes, recheck only those items that you absolutely, positively can't live without!"
Hosta prices are often in the middle of the range listed in the Hosta Finder; however, the plants I have received have been consistently larger, with more leaves per division and more divisions than those from many other sources with cheaper prices. If you are willing to wait longer for the hosta to get big, you may find a cheaper plant elsewhere, but if you want a plant that will look quite nice in your garden immediately, the prices here are very good values for the plants delivered. The most expensive cultivar listed is H. 'Embroidery' at $250. There are a number of classic cultivars available for $6. Don't list substitutions unless you are willing to receive them, because items sometimes run out. Substitutions, when made, are excellent values. Credit cards are accepted and orders are billed upon receipt.
Hostas are shipped bareroot and arrive in virtually perfect condition around the date requested. All have made the transition to the garden easily. The two Avent introductions, H. 'Andy Taylor' and H. 'Barney Fife', are among my current favorite green hostas, but alas, they don't appear in the 1998 catalog year. When I have called with questions, I have found Tony and the staff at Plant Delights particularly helpful and accommodating.
This nursery also offers a fascinating range of other perennials, including quite extensive listings of Arisaema species, Asarum species, all the new Kevin Vaughn Tradescantia hybrids, and Tricyrtis species, but there are more hostas than any other genus. These catalogs are collector's items, in my opinion, for their wacky humor and their treasure trove of information.
Main Page Hosta Mania!! The Orchid Window Water Gardens Garden Tour