On a warm Sunday afternoon in late June, I found myself in Michigan helping my stepmother, and decided to head for Cement City once I was relieved of my weekend duties. I checked the internet and was very surprised to see the hours at Hallson Gardens: 9 am-9 pm MTWTFSS. I showed up at around 6 pm with my stepmother and being Sunday evening, ours was the only car in the parking lot. Chris came down from a pergola-in-progess to welcome us and shake our hands. He reassured me that they were indeed open, and then lucky, lucky me...I had him all to myself!

If you ever get to south-central Michigan, you must visit Chris, as you will feel as though you're dropping in on an old friend. Chris kindly helped my step-mom, (who doesn't know plants and didn't know what she wanted) choose a couple of small hostas and some perennials for a sunny spot. I was concerned that we were taking him from his pergola, as he was trying to get things spruced up for the upcoming hosta convention, but he seemed to enjoy helping us, so we shopped and visited with ease.

Chris took us on a tour of all the hostas in his back field, which is a lovely, shaded black walnut grove loaded with hostas and perennials that have plenty of room to spread their roots and leaves. We were offered and accepted some mosquito repellent and then wandered and marveled from row to row. I wanted to know the name of every hosta there, and Chris obliged. The unsung hero of the field goes almost unnoticed...the soil. Chris lifts hostas by plunging his fingers tips straight down into the fluffy soil and carefully brings up the meaty white roots between his palms. I'd never seen that! When I chose plants, I saw that he always looked them all over to find the "best and biggeste" in the row, so I quickly trusted him to choose for me. Everything came home labeled beautifully and potted in that happy soil. When I water my plants, not only am I thrilled with them, but I find myself thinking about that afternoon, which has to be the most fun I've had since I got hooked on hostas. I've purchased and squealed over many hosta "deals" and "finds", but nothing compares to having a nice time with Chris in his own garden.

Chris helped us for more than 2 hours, wandering the field, lifting hostas, teaching, sharing. He learned our names quickly, and used them. We had some good laughs, and I learned a lot, like how to identify leaf characteristics that might be confused for HVX, but are not.

I came away with a warm-fuzzy feeling that still lingers, a couple of hostas that were on my wish-list, and a few that I'd never heard of. Here's the list:

Liberty

Rainbow's End

Paradise Power

Rainforest Sunrise

Pineapple Poll

Cathedral Windows

Silver Bay

Komodo Dragon

June

Rascal

Warwick Comet

Summer Breeze

Fantasy Island

Radiant Star

The Pineapple Poll was a gift from Chris, and he also dug up and gave me some root from a tremendous Chinese Horseradish...that was really something to see!

My favorite at this moment has to be Rainforest Sunrise. However, the most exciting is that I was able to get Radiant Star, which I believe Chris said was Hallson Gardens' first hosta introduction. I just had to pop for one, I think he had about 4...a $100 one, a $65 and a couple of $20. That's all he had of the mother plant, but he does have the bright little one in tc production now. It's a sport of Radiant Edger, with a dark center. A Sweetheart!

I'll put a link if you'd like to know more about this new hosta from his own keyboard. There's a nice pic there, too, in the forum post. I feel really honored that he offered one for me to buy, and being that the convention folks would be coming a week later, I knew that I needed to spring right then if I wanted one. I have no problems at all with tc, but it is somehow special to know that you have a piece of a new mother plant, and that is a first for me (that I know of.) I got the $20 one, as I have to be budget minded. (Oh, yes, I did blow my budget, too, but he gave me very fair/reasonable prices, and some extra steep bargains, too!)

I know this has been a long post, but many have posted about how happy they've been with hostas shipped from Hallson Gardens, and I certainly saw there in Cement City, that there's a reason for it. Chris is not only a star-gardener, but he knows how to be with people and that is a winning combination. I do believe that my step-mom could really use a fresh coat of paint in her living room.

Here is a link that might be useful: H. Radiant Star info and pic