Background: Barry Glickhas been involved in the plant world since 1954, when at the young, impressionable age of 5, he witnessed Don Herbert (Mr. Wizard on TV) place a cutting of a plant in a glass of water only to sprout roots a few shows later. Barry replicated the experiment with 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 Philadelphia in the ’60s, a Mecca of horticulture, he would hitchhike to Longwood Gardens, Scott Arboretum, Winterthur, and Morris Arboretum before he was old enough to drive.

In 1972, he realized there was just not enough room for his plants and him in a big city environment, so he bought 60 acres of a 3,650-foot-high mountain top in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, where he founded Sunshine Farm & Gardens, started his plant collection, and has remained ever since.

Barry’s 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 arboretums, botanic gardens, nurseries and private gardens in virtually every country in the world.

In 1995, he developed a hands-on propagation workshop titled “The Joy of Propagation”; or, “Everything That You Wanted To Know About Propagation, But Were Afraid To Ask”. The 6-hour workshop was first presented at the 5th Annual Millersville Native Plant Symposium at Millersville University, Millersville, Pennsylvania. Barry was invited back to give the workshop again at the 1996, 1997 and 1998 symposiums. The popularity of the workshop has led to its presentation at a multitude of other venues. At this time, a two-hour commercial video based on the workshop is in the planning stages. He was invited back to Millersville University to present this workshop again in 2012.

Barry is the author of many articles in Garden Design Magazine, Brooklyn Botanical Garden Journal, Castanea, The Journal of the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society, many North American Rock Garden Society Chapter Newsletters, New, Rare, and Elusive Plants Journal in the UK, The Viola Society Newsletter, Native Plants Journal and many other gardening publications. A six-page article discussing Native Terrestrial Orchids was published in the Nov/Dec 1998 issue of Fine Gardening. Barry is a regular columnist for Washington Gardener Magazine.

With a state-of-the-art tissue culture laboratory, Sunshine Farm & Gardens is involved in experimental genetics on plant material, the goal of which is to develop new and better plants for the landscape and the garden. The commercial arm of the operation provides high quality, unusual plants at reasonable prices to garden centers, nurseries, landscape professionals and home gardeners worldwide.

The display gardens at Sunshine Farm & Gardens were completely redesigned by Mr. Matthew Bishop of Devon England in 1993 and several thousand new plants were planted in the existing 24-year-old garden. Visitors are welcome with advance notice.

In 1995, Barry was invited by the Royal Horticultural Society in London England to give a series of lectures at many venues around England culminating with the Ron Sidwell Memorial Lecture at Pershore Horticultural College in Pershore, England.

The main focus of plant breeding at Sunshine Farm & Gardens is within the genus Helleborus. Barry has spent the last three decades combing the Earth for new germplasm to enhance the bloodlines of his Helleborus x hybridus ‘Sunshine Selections’ strain. Virtually every species within the genus is also grown. Barry maintains more than 175,000 flowering size Hellebore stock plants on a 6-acre section of the nursery for seed production. Barry presents a 160 image powerpoint lecture about Hellebores that covers everything from history, breeding, culture and propagation.

The other major primary focus at Sunshine Farm & Gardens is Native Plants. Barry has developed propagation protocols and growing regimens for many native species previously thought to be difficult to grow. His lecture “Woodland Wonders From The Wilds” has been presented to master gardener groups, garden clubs, horticultural societies, garden centers and civic groups in almost every state in the U.S. and throughout England

More Places to Find Barry on the Web:

Barry’s Speakers Portfolio

Reviews of his presentations