Comments regarding Sunshine Farm & Garden

Many years ago, I came across Barry listed as a source for unusual plants. It said he had a catalog, which I ordered.

Nothing arrived.

I found an email address and asked about my catalog order. Oh that wasn't quite ready, what did I want. I said only a catalog.

Suddenly the man is on my telephone, asking me what plants I want! I had NOT given my phone number in either my letter or email.

I repeated I wanted a paper catalog to sit and read ABOUT his plants, not that I had plants I needed instantly. It was a very odd and uncomfortable experience to be tracked down in my home! He kept pushing me to name plants!

Not having a clue what any of his plants cost, or anything about him, I did not order.

Nor did I ever receive my catalog.

Was very surprised several years later to come across a few of his tiny plants, at a local nursery. Hard to believe he had stayed in business.

The reviews here are so extreme, yet I can see how they fit so well with the eccentric, pushy person who called my home yet gave me zero information. Just kept trying to sell me plants for which there was no price mentioned!

Posted on June 22, 2010, updated July 2, 2010
We just used Sunshine Garden for a co-op on Dave’s Garden. Would we choose to use him again? I think everyone involved would give a resounding NO! Admittedly due to the,illness and inexperience of the hostess (me) this thing got off to a slow start, however, once the cash monies that Mr. Glick insisted on rather than a check or money order were in his hands along with typed labels and packing slips, things got murkier than the waters surrounding the Deep Water Horizon in the Gulf.
Plants were to begin being mailed out within the week. He gave me an actual date. This did not happen. Mr. Glick was e-mailed repeatedly by me and my co-hostess requesting information about the shipping. I called him nearly every morning on the phone. We repeated over and over that certain people needed their orders by a certain date. This did not happen. All we heard was “they were mailed”, “I mailed them”. He swore he had never had this issue with USPS Priority mail before. After several weeks of this, plants started to arrive. They may have been packed in padded envelopes, but at least they were arriving. Some were at least. Another two weeks or so go by then a couple more people get their plants. Complaints too were coming. Broken leaves, half dead plants and unidentifiable black spots were the most common complaints. Size was also an issue, but some felt that at the price we were paying health was more important. In all fairness, those that were happy were very happy. Nice sized healthy plants were their allotted portion.
Complaints were relayed to Mr. Glick as well as compliments and packaging improved but the contents didn’t. I had one irate person on the phone for an hour complaining about the “aspirin sized” (the way she described it, I’m thinking Baby aspirin) bulb she had received, that she wouldn’t have “paid a quarter for” and threw in a few choice expletives’ for good measure. I relayed this choice bit to Mr. Glick and he did in all fairness promise to make good. I can’t help but wonder about the people working in his packing shed.
In the middle of all this Mr. Glick runs out of plants so I have to spend several days on the phone contacting the affected people to get their substitutions. He would not agree to backorder anyone’s order. These I immediately relayed to Mr. Glick. I then later learn that he has been contacting people and telling them that it’s my fault, had I gotten the original orders to him earlier…He never mentioned he was running low on plants when I handed him the money and packing slips. He true to form never contacted me about this little snag. He did tell my co-hostess. This unfortunately became his all too familiar pattern. The issue of no deliveries was still ongoing by the way.
He’s now telling who ever chose to contact him that “your hostess is a very nice lady, just overwhelmed”. He’s the one with the plants and money by the way. Now the excuse is he doesn’t have the packing slips. The packing slips that I had placed in his hands the day I drove 5 hours to his farm and placed the money in his hands. By this time my E-mails are being ignored and he’s continuing with his “blame game”. Fortunately he had taken a liking to my co-hostess (who was beyond wonderful by the way) and she aided and abetted by the other co-op members who were sick of this fandango, was able to get the last few members plants mailed.
The small size and condition of the plants is still at issue, but Mr. Glick has promised to make good anyone’s complaints. As things stand mine is the only order not yet delivered due to Mr. Glick supposedly never having received my order. I’ve sent him a new copy prior to this writing.
So, would I ever use him as a co-op vendor again? Over my dead body! If I could go to his farm, pick my plants out and bring them home with me, would I? You bet!
Mr. Glick is a wonderful, delightful human being. My child and dogs loved him and his wife not to mention his dogs and horse when we went to his farm. I loved wandering over his miles of woodlands ooing and ahhing over his gardens. He gave us an exceptionally good price and stuck to it. He said he’d ship each order for only $5 and he held to that. I’d cheerfully go spend the day there anytime. I’d even be willing to dig and pot my own plants. I’d just never ever want to use him or recommend him as the vendor for any co-op I was involved in either as a member or hostess.

I nearly chose the negative response, but since I resolved this matter as far as I care to, decided to just give a neutral rating. It is obvious Barry knows his stuff as far as a horticulturist, but I think he needs some help from a pro in mailing plants if he wants to raise money to support his botanical gardens.
Back in early Feb. I wrote to Barry in response to one of his newsletters in which he touted a native plant (Spigelia marilandica). From the photo and description, I thought this would be a spectacular plant to add to my woodland collection both here in SW PA and at our cottage in south-central VA. I wrote & enquired, found out they come bare-root and the price, and ordered 5. I asked him if they could be sent directly to our VA address, explaining that we would be there from March 6-26. He replied that that he could not ship them until April. I accepted this and agreed that he should ship them to PA when the plants became available.
We returned to PA on 3/26, and I found that the plants had already arrived here! I have no idea how long they had been awaiting me in the mailroom where our mail arrives, but opened them immediately. I found 6 small, sealed plastic bags that had some soilless mix and could see or feel no plants. I opened each to find extremely tiny crowns only about 1" in length, with wet, black roots as fine as thread. There was no sign of life. (At this point I felt they were definitely NOT worth the price I paid--even if they had been alive!) I immediately e-mailed Barry expressing my chagrin that (1)they came here (they obviously COULD have been sent to VA after all!) and (2) that they looked utterly lifeless. He replied:
From: Barry Glick [mailto:barry@sunfarm.com]
Sent: Friday, March 26, 2004 10:02 AM
Subject: Re: S. marilandica

Hi, sorry about the mixup.

They should be fine as long as the moss stayed moist. [Oh, it stayed moist, all right!]

They should be planted in the ground after the last freeze.

You can keep them in pots for now in a window using soil from outdoors.

Cheers
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Well, it is against everything I know to plant such frail things in regular garden soil, but I got some of my old screened compost & mixed it with a peat/coir mix, watered with Maxi-crop seaweed, and put some of them under lights alongside my 6 seeded flats. Just to experiment, I put a couple on the windowsill and kept all of them barely damp. I told him what I did and that I was very dubious, but he assured me they'd replace any non-survivors. Long story somewhat shorter: (the bad news) nothing ever sprouted. I notified him on 5/25 of the problem.
The good news: he asked how many he owed me, my address, and within a very reasonable time I received 5 replacements--nice little plants this time, about 4-5" high in square 2" pots. Unfortunately, the method of packing was very poor. A plastic baggie wrapped & rubber-banded around the pots & bases of the plants to hold in the soil--that was fine. But then they all were put loosely into a large paper bag full of Styrofoam peanuts, and there they rattled around freely en route, with the result that two (miraculously only 2)of the plants had broken stems. One survived after I pruned off the wilted top half; the other was broken below all the leaves and so far has not shown any new growth. Caveat emptor; I have not the energy or desire to pursue this further, but will chalk it up to experience.

I read Barry's newsletter on the merits and large size of the Cyclamen hederifolium he was selling on special offer, and bought some- they were smaller than he said (2" diameter rather than 2.5 to 3" as stated.) I respect his knowledge and enthusiam, but I'll take the descriptions with a pinch of salt in future. I might buy something from him I couldn't get elsewhere, I suppose....He was very quick to follow up an e-mail I sent raisng the issue, but ended up just verifying that I got what he planned to send. Disappointing.