Show Basket   Update Profile   Daylily Search   Checkout

 
Daylilies, Hosta, Dahlias, and Roses; tour the grounds - Sunshine Hollow Gardens
Garden's Present and Future Activities
Hollow Ridge Road
One of the newest completions is the "Hollow Ridge Road." It is a three mile road around the ridges of the Hollow. Deep woods and steep slopes give the impression of a rugged mountain road. The terrain is typical of the many ridges in the Great Valley of Tennessee. The road will be available for driving, horseback riding, and hiking. Wagon rides around the road will also be available in the future.
Dave's Trail
Another new gentle walking trail which runs around the interior of the Hollow is named "Dave's Trail" because it is his "piece de resistance" of all the eight miles of trails on the property.  It is approximately two miles in length. This trail travels through hundreds of native azaleas and eight varieties of butterfly bushes (Buddleia) that we have added.  In addition to the Native Azaleas and the Butterfly Bushes we are adding for Summer Color, we eventually intend to display a large number of Rhododendron and Azalea species and hybrids as well as numerous Hellebores alone the trail.  The combination of the different bloom seasons will give us late Winter bloom (Hellebores), early Spring bloom (Native Azaleas), late Spring bloom (Rhododendrons) and Summer bloom (Butterfly Bushes).  This trail is almost finished except for two bridges we hope to build this Spring.
Fern Gully Trail
The Fern Gully trail has just been completed this past Fall.  It leads off the main Garden path "Vicki Lynn Trail" and follows the creek that feeds the two acre lake at the center of the Hollow.  The area has magnificent older trees and is cool even in the Summer time.  The moisture from the Creek has fostered hundreds of Native ferns.  This winter we have added another ten varieties of Native and Hybrid ferns to the area.  We intend to keep upgrading the amount and variety of ferns in this area and possibly expanding the walking trail into other areas as well as adding benches for sitting.
Bog Area
At the head of the stream just below the large dam that creates "Sunshine Lake" is a large Bog.  We intend to take this natural swampy wetland area and use it to display water-loving plants such as Lotus, Iris pseudacorus, Louisiana Iris, Cannas, Carnivorous plants, sweet flag and others.  In 2004 we roughed in a trail around the perimeter of the area.  Now two foot bridges have to be built to access it from the "Fred Lee Rhyne Nature Trail".
New Plant Sales Area
Visitors from previous years will find that we have moved our Plant Sales Area out of the main part of the Gardens and to the site of our main daylily pot growing facility.  We have done this for several reasons:  1.  To make more room for parking since the sales area was in the main parking for the Gardens;  2.  Be able to restock plants quicker from our inventory;  3.  Offer our customers other plant varieties such as Roses, other perennials, some annuals and Hanging Baskets.  The addition of other plants will be accomplished by adding a Merchandizing Greenhouse at the Plant sales area.  This Greenhouse will be heated in the winter in order for us to over winter some non-hardy plants for the Gardens as well as enable us to pot and produce other varieties of plants for sale in the Spring.
Floating Water Gardens
Visitors this year will see the first edition of something new we are going to try at the Gardens.  We will be adding small floating plant islands to at least one of our ponds this year.  These "Floating Islands" will contain plants which will use the surrounding water for nutrients.  We think that most plants that can be rooted in water or that will grow in moist areas could be used in the "Floating Islands".  Examples of some of these are Impatients, creeping jenny, Hosta, Houtennyia, yellow flag iris and many others.

[Gardens Home]   [Contact Us]   [Newsletter]   [Privacy]   [Main Home]  

Version: e, February, 2007. Page generated 08:27 EDT; Thursday, May 15, 2008.