Sunshine Farm & Gardens 696 Glicks Road, Renick, WV 24966

"I bought 120 Meehania Cordata in 2” pots from Barry. They were beautiful and healthy. Barry also gives individual attention to his customers. What a wonderful experience. Can’t wait to plant them."

"Hey, I haven’t lived in WV in over twenty years, but even I know that IF A MAN EMAILS YOU TELLING YOU HE HAS A LINE ON SOME RAMPS, you get in your truck and go get some ramps, you don’t leave a bad review on the internet. Look, Barry is the real deal. Dude loves hellebores, and he loves native plants, and he is just NICE. I’ve never seen anything quite like his mountainside full of hellebores cascading down into the valley below, and I will eternally regret the knee injury that prevented me from going all the way down the hill. His plants are growing up on the top of a mountain in Greenbrier county (GPS said 3600ft), exposed to wind and rain, sprouting up from beneath the cover of leaves—of course he is able to produce healthy native plants where many people have struggled. He’s also doing all the other slightly freaky biz that horticulturalists are into, like hand-pollinating to make hybrids and doing tissue cultures. Very cool. You can go out to the farm, but make arrangements in advance (he does answer the phone, and it’s not stressful to call the guy, fellow telephone-avoiders, but it seems like you can also send an email) and bring a car that isn’t going to bottom out: observe the directions on his website include the phrases “climb the first mountain” and “climb the second mountain.” People working there were busy getting out orders, but were still friendly to the two random ladies who sheepishly came by. Picked up some healthy plants for a good price, money goes directly into local dude’s pocket to buy dog food for cute dogs and sustain another one of those hidden local magic spots that make West Virginia unlike anywhere else. Didn’t take photos because his home is on the property and it’s not a public storefront, but you can hop on his webpage and Facebook to get a taste of what is up. Amusingly, I forgot to ask about the ramps (probably because I was brought up that you didn’t ask people where their ramps came from.)"

"Barry has an amazing collection of native plants, particularly native spring ephemerals that I wasn't able to find anywhere else (think native versions of crocus, lily of the valley, daffodil). What shipped were bare root corms (~bulbs) in ziplocs bags. It felt like these were not going to work, but they've performed beautifully. All of them have bloomed. Sweet delicate little flowers that grew quickly. I was nervous and Barry has responded several times to my questions after purchase."

"Here is a snippet of the latest junk email we received from Sunshine Farm and Gardens. I never subscribed to your mailing list so stop sending me this stuff and I'll stop complaining! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Cat Is Out Of The Bag"!!! "The Word Is On The Street"!!! Well..... there's lots of ways to say it, but you get my drift. I'm referring to the same news that I learned over 46 years ago when, as a young, naive lad, I moved to the mountains of Greenbrier County, West Virginia from the streets of Philadelphia. The natives were enthralled with us, the "Back To The Land", "Hippie Homesteaders" influx and were very eager to teach us the "Ways Of The Wild". They'd take us out into the forests to educate us about edible wild plants like "Rock Lettuce" (Saxifraga micranthidfolia), "Creasy Greens" (Barbarea verna), "Poke Salad" (Phytolacca americana), "Shepherd's Purse" (Capsella bursa-pastoris), "Purslane" (Portulaca oleracea) and many other edible wild "weeds". However, the most cherished and prized edible native plant of all was Allium tricoccum or what they introduced us to as "Ramps". The word Ramps is a corruption of the old Anglic word "Ramson", in case you're wondering how this seemingly strange common name originated. Now, more than four decades later, it seems that almost every five-star, gourmet restaurant in the US has a "Ramp" dish on the menu. "Ramps" aka Allium tricoccum, are actually wild leeks. They combine the taste of garlic (Allium sativum) with the taste of onion (Allium cepa), although that's really somewhat of an oversimplification as the taste of "Ramps" is bursting with other, so many other, flavors and nuances that they leave their actual essence difficult to verbalize. Only your culinary imagination will limit their possibilities in your own kitchen. I use the leaves in salads and stir fries, and chop the bulbs for Miso soup and many other dishes. And once you've had them on pizza... fagetaboutit!..."

"Just received my order of Celandine poppies. Beautiful plants packed very carefully and shipped in about a week. Best mail-order plant experience ever. I will no doubt order again. Thanx for great service!"