Not only do the 20 club members regularly tend the garden, they’re also eager to share their knowledge with families and children who come to visit.
Garden committee chair Barbara Zeier of Englewood has been involved at Aullwood since 2004 and recently introduced a group of children from Dixie Elementary in New Lebanon to her favorite garden.
Jeni Wilson, one of the teachers who accompanied the New Lebanon children, says the women from the garden club were wonderful guides and really held her students’ attention.
Zeier says the youngsters were curious. “They started to ask questions as soon as they entered the garden,” she reports. “Their first question was about the pennyroyal growing near the entrance. After explaining it was a mint, I headed toward some of the other mint to let them smell the chocolate mint which always seems to be a favorite with children and adults.” When chocolate mint is rubbed between your fingers, she explains, it actually smells like a peppermint patty! “After smelling the mint, they were excited and each wanted a tiny cutting to take with them.”
Zeier had never grown herbs until she joined the garden club. “Suddenly I found there’s a whole world of flowers out there called herbs that not only look and smell beautiful but have a purpose!”
The garden’s history
In 1965, Greenview Garden Club President, Lillian Shaffer, and club member, Mildred Gallaher, approached Mrs. Aull about starting a new civic project. They offered to contribute both volunteers and $25 for plants. Their offer coincided with Mrs. Aull’s idea to create a teaching herb garden at Aullwood Children’s Farm.
In August 1965, the women were shown a one-quarter acre triangular shaped lot. By October the farm staff began preparing the plot for spring planting. Rich river-bottom soil was hauled in from the nearby Stillwater River and after plowing and working in the new soil, beds were created with wide paths between them to accommodate visitors to the garden.
Growing herbs was not as common in the ‘60s as it is today. Mrs. Aull, along with the National Audubon Society director’s wife, suggested a simple plan for the beds. This was not to be a “show garden” but a teaching garden where visitors would be encouraged to touch and smell the herbs.
The herb garden was to have eight beds: the Native American Indian bed, the Colonial beds that people brought when they first came to America, the front and back culinary beds, the front and back scented beds, and the entrance beds.
In 1966, the garden was awarded “The Best Unfinished Project” by the Garden Clubs of Ohio. In 1971, the Sears Foundation presented the club with a “Civic Beautification Award.”
An Herb House, still used for drying and displaying herbs, was built in 1967 at the back of the garden.
Meet a volunteer
“Would you like to see some herbs you might know?” queries Jane Peterson of Clayton when school and camp groups come for a visit. “Remember oregano that’s on your pizza? Here’s what it looks and smells like!”
Peterson has been volunteering at the herb garden since 1975 when she moved to the Miami Valley and remembers being “thrilled to death” when a friend introduced her to the herb garden and asked her to become involved. “I was a kindergarten and third grade teacher and had been in a garden club and loved being outside.”
Peterson also has fond memories of Mrs. Aull, describing her as very personable and down-to-earth. “She was a real gardener and if you walked through Aullwood Garden in the spring, you’d see a field of Virginia bluebells she planted,” Peterson says. " She would answer any questions you asked her. One time when I walked through her property she was out there working and dug some aconite plants for me. And she came to our garden club’s 25th anniversary party. It was just wonderful!”
These days, she estimates there are nearly 100 different herbs in the garden. “We try to have the basic herbs that people would recognize, like chives, basil, fennel, mints and dill. And we also have those that are unusual.”
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
The women are regularly scheduled to come to the garden every other Tuesday and have club meetings at the Englewood Government Center once a month. They bring their own tools when it’s time to work. “The thing I really love is that we grow these herbs; most are perennials and come up every year. And we also buy annuals. We like to let them grow from small plants and then as they mature, we’re able to cut them and hang them in the Herb House to demonstrate how people would have done that years ago to preserve them and use them year-round.”
Nenita Lapitan, Aullwood’s manager of volunteer and rental services, says the Greenview Garden Club has been invaluable to Aullwood for more than 50 years. “The Herb Garden is the most attractive, best tended place at the Farm,” she says. “That’s due to the hundreds of hours that the members put into planting, weeding, watering and tending every year. They are wonderful to work with and we are so happy to have this partnership.”
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Visiting the garden
The most exciting time to visit the Herb Garden is from spring through fall though members say it can also be interesting in the winter. Because of the numbers and types of plants, a lot of wildlife and pollinators can be found there.
“Some herbs look their best in September and October,” says Zeier. “Those are the ornamental herbs like black-and-blue salvia. They are known as the hummingbird salvia because they attract hummingbirds. The pineapple sage is an ornamental herb that blooms towards the end of August and has a beautiful bright red flower.”
If you’d like to encounter the garden club women, your best bet is to visit on a Tuesday morning when they are working there. If they aren’t around you can still learn about the herbs from the beautiful signs that explain what each herb is and what it’s used for. There’s also sheets of information in the little house and Aullwood naturalists are happy to share information about the herbs.
The club is always in need of volunteers and welcomes new members. Peterson says it’s a wonderful way to meet new people. “I say all my friends are gardeners and it’s really true!”
Want to grow herbs at home?
Here are five tips from garden committee chair Barbara Zeier. Her favorite herb combination is fresh basil on fresh tomatoes.
1. Select herbs that you will enjoy using.
2. Plant the herbs in a sunny location.
3. Make sure the soil has good drainage.
4. Plant herbs with similar water needs together. Some plants prefer to remain on the dry side, others need more water. Always read the tag that should be attached to your plant when you purchase it. A wilted plant could be a sign of too much or too little water. Check the soil.
5. Prune and harvest herbs regularly.
HOW TO GO
What: Aullwood Audubon Farm Herb Garden
Where: 9101 Frederick Pike, Dayton
When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Admission: General admission is free for children 3 and under, $8 for children 4 to 12, $12 for adults 13 to 64, and $10 for seniors age 65 and over and active duty military members. Admission also includes the Aullwood Nature Center, 1000 Aullwood Road.
Parking: Free.
FYI: If your group would like a guided tour of the Herb Garden, you’re asked to contact Aullwood at (937) 890-7360 or email askus@aullwood.org.
Interested in joining the Greenview Garden Club? Email Kathie Menker at kmenker@woh.rr.com.
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