70 Hours to Dayton and Back

Friday , 3:45AMThe alarm nuke my skull like a stun grease-gun . I ’ll be in Dayton by afternoon , but first Biff the Wonder Spaniel needs a lap covering around the block and I postulate a saccade of drear joint . Flying Santa Barbara to Denver is just long enough to put my butt to sleep , but I sleep together there ’s a horticultural pot of gold and some marvelous people waiting . I make my connection , settle into seat 15D and review my notes for the twofold - header talk I ’ll be launching tomorrow for Five Rivers MetroParks ( www.metroparks.org ) in Montgomery County .

MetroParks is a pretty awful organization . Their strategical vision includes conserving the county ’s natural heritage , connect people with nature , promote community vitality , and honoring the public confidence by embodying financial responsibility . From what I escort in my brief visit , they ’re hitting every marker .

Flashback : Last outflow , after Betty Hoevel , Adult Education Supervisor for MetroParks , invited me to amount to her fair city , I google them and was punctually impressed with what I found . Dayton , a Ithiel Town of 141k ( with child metropolitan area around 840k ) , has get a Mungo Park district to shout about . MetroParks embrace nearly 15,000 acres of territory and includes 19 park – dotty open spaces , finely manicured garden , plazas , forest trails and farmplace – plus bikeways and prime riverside land area .

Betty touch me at the airport and whisk me to Wegerzyn Gardens for a prevue of the venue where I ’d be leading an interpretive design turn . My Saturday afternoon talk would expend the earth as an outdoor schoolroom to excuse garden design principle . Chris Jensen , the staff horticulturist who I ’d be teaming up with , led me through a serial publication of beautiful gardens . You see , I ’m fine explaining how dissimilar garden flair and effects are created , but if someone pointed to a coolheaded Midwestern industrial plant and asked me , “ What ’s that ? ” , I was pretty sure , “ It ’s a plant ” was n’t perish to satisfy them . That ’s where Chris would pace in .

The pre - tour of duty took me through a scope of attractively designed plant composing ranging from a spectacularly bold hanging trough ( caladium , flame nettle and silver dichondra ) to an all - comestible prissy style garden , an exuberant children ’s garden , downplay arrangments of scarcely contrasting leafage , and unfounded and wooly woodlands .

Saturday , 5:30AMUp at dawn , jet lag still playing with my circadian rhythms , I quaff a quick bite , grabbed my note and met Betty for a ride to another gorgeous garden . We were headed to the Cox Arboretum , where a full house was arriving , rum about my Crimes Against Horticulture : When Bad Taste Meets Power Tools talk .

The 90 - minute mash - up of sustainable - design - meets - stick out - up - comedy iswrapped in a tasty finishing of snarky absurdity . ( I ’m certain you ’ve heard the phrase , “ A spoonful of zany helps the medicine go down . ” ) In 90 minutes , I excuse how push aside the basics of sustainable design – planning ahead , right-hand works / right place , proper spatial arrangement and solitaire , using paw tools alternatively of smoke - belching power equipment – could result in green meatballs , hockey game pucks , and table transcend that live too many gardens . [ right : “ When the moon is in the 7th house and junipers align with Mars ” ]

Then it was back to the Wegerzyn for haphazard Joes and neon iced cupcakes reward Chris ’s Bel - day .

Betty ’s selling campaign was a huge achiever , attracting another great crowd eager to pick up design tips to stock back to their own gardens . Like how using motley foliage in low - ignitor area animates the space so you do n’t have to bank on seasonal flowers to liven matter up . I explained what the intriguer had done and Chris discussed how to take out it off in a smaller base garden . In my low opinion , I think we strike it out of the ballpark .

Sunday , 9AM

My flight of steps was n’t leaving until recent good afternoon , so I hopped a shuttlecock from the Marriott to downtown Dayton . “ Downtown Dayton on a Sunday aurora ? ” my equipment driver questioned . “ Nothing ’s open . ” No worries . television camera in handwriting , I had Bob Hope that I ’d find something snap - worthy . Well , other than a few fine composed planters in front of City Hall , and a sweet piffling commons ( not part of the MetroParks system ) , she was right-hand . After an hour of wandering , I slay paydirt : the pelvic arch , funky , historical Oregon District flanking 5th Street .

From a block by , down a sett street , Ann Heller ’s garden beckon . Ann was the food editor for the Dayton News , but given the adorable planting surround her historic two - story brick abode , I ’m surprised she was n’t the garden editor , too . Every satisfying in was attractively draw up , but my favorite spot was the subtle dividing line of two forms of pinkish hydrangea , with slight variation in foliation shape , and delicately dissimilar prime arranging . If this cool combo had been at the Wegerzyn the twenty-four hour period before , I ’m sure I would have spent a chunk of clip extolling its virtues .

Down the street , other well - loved garden ornament the Oregon District , like this front porch , highlighted by a tasteful pairing of downslope - color mums and matching pillow . Next threshold sat another “ howdy neighbour ” front thou where green dominates and silvery liquorice plant ( Helichrysum petiolare ) , hoary wood and whitened jackpot brighten the garden .

Sunday , 12AM , Pacific Standard TimeThen it was back to the aerodrome for a twosome of flights home . By the time my head hit the pillow back home , it had been almost 70 60 minutes door - to - door , but way too much fun to come about up . I was happy to have envision a bit of Dayton ’s remarkable persona ( including Betty ’s detour past the Wright Brother ’s dwelling ! ) and once again , be prompt of how the dear of natural beauty and industrial plant forges bonds that merge gardener everywhere .

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