The Travel Professor
Join me on a journey across the broad spectrum of interesting travel topics. We’ll discuss destinations domestic and abroad, some familiar and some off the beaten path. We take a look at suppliers like cruise lines, air carriers and tour operators and find their bargains and special offerings. Got questions? Email thetravelprofessor@gmail.com.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Spring flowers

I can tell that spring is just around the corner as the seed, flower and garden catalogs are arriving in my snail mail & electronic mailboxes.

Among the dozen or so catalogs that I received is from Spring Hill Nursery located in Tipp City near Dayton Ohio. Not only are they offering plants found in local box stories and garden centers but many unique and hard to find specimens.
In 1849, while thousands sought their gold fortunes in California, Peter Bohlender started a small nursery in North Dayton, Ohio – Bohlenders Nursery. Peter had immigrated from Bavaria with his family at the age of 6. With few schools and no opportunity to attend, he went to work in a tobacco stripping house. Before he reached his teens he was employed by a nurseryman where he received his training for his life’s work.

Peter Bohlender moved his nursery to Tipp City, Ohio in 1889, and during World War I he renamed the nursery Spring Hill Nurseries. He derived the name “Spring Hill” from the hill located across the creek from the present day location of the garden store’s growing area.

Spring Hill Nurseries was originally a wholesale garden store nursery, owning nearly all the property surrounding its present location. Over the next 40 years, Spring Hill slowly began to move out of wholesale and into mail-order. Spring Hill shifted the majority of its focus to mail-order in 1930.


Spring Hill mails its catalogs in the spring and fall seasons. Orders are shipped at the proper planting time for each area of the country.

It is estimated that over 25,000,000 American gardens contain Spring Hill grown plants.

It’s worthy of a road trip over to the southwestern part of Ohio but I need to conduct a little more research on other things to see and do in the area. I'll keep you posted.

Visit them on-line at
http://springhillnursery.com.

Got travel questions? Need help with reservations? Contact
thetravelprofessor@gmail.com.