Everything at Eden Hill
Greenhouses has been produced on site from either purchase plugs, seed, or,
increasingly, cuttings rooted in propagation beds developed at Eden Hill. Operating
more like a small factory than garden, there is always something under production for the
future. Poinsettias showed up in April this year!
Eden Hill Greenhouses is
comprised of four greenhouses, making up 18,000 sq. ft. and an additional
18,000 sq. ft. outside for perennials and hardy garden mums. Crops are produced on
mass scale, but with as much variety as possible. This year for the spring/summer season
24,000 annuals from cuttings and plugs in 4" pots and an additional 20,000 from seed
in 4-pack cells were grown, as well as 350 hanging baskets, 400 patio planters, several
thousand other annuals, 4,000 mums, and around 15,000 perennials, all by hand.
All of this is overseen by expert
grower Peter Volas, founder and owner. Pete began working with plants along side
of his family in the mid-1950's in
In 1999, Pete's oldest son Tim
moved to Benzie to work at the greenhouses after living on both the west and east
coats, working for other greenhouses. One was an orchid nursery. Orchids are a
crop that Tim has introduced into production, along with a smattering of smaller
houseplants, like ferns, a wide variety of "specialty" annuals, and many
perennials.
The constant, assembly-line
production just couldn't be done without the help and assistance of Eden Hill's small full
time crew. Michelle
LaPlan has probably transplanted 200,000 plants in the past year, and Gary Houghtaling has
probably mixed 10,000 cubic feet of Eden Hill's special planting mix and then used it all
up filling pots in 3 months' time!