Dayton "Dirt" - August 16, 2013

On a recent getaway to Cook Forest State Park in Pennsylvania, I stumbled on a hiking trail called the Rhododendron trail and marveled not at the rhododendron which were far and few between but at the massive Canadian Hemlocks with a few of them up to 5foot in diameter at chest height! One tree that had fallen and had been saved up to clear the trail had a 30" diameter trunk with at least 120 growth rings! I deducted them that some of the much larger living trees must be 200 to 250 years old so that some of them were just youngsters even before there was a United States. Later at the campground, I was talking excitedly about the old growth Hemlock’s in Cook Forest when the campground host related to me that at a meeting this spring with the park officials the inevitable has happened in that the invasive insect, the Hemlock adelgid, originally from Europe has entered the forest on the old growth trees. After this small insect saps the tree for 6-10 years, they will die leaving a decimated landscape where once the great trees grew. Long ago the American chestnut suffered a similar fate and now Hemlock. Black Walnuts, American Beech, Oaks and now possibly Maples are or will come under attack from non-native insects and diseases. On a lighter note, the bridge construction that has caused the closure of Cleveland-Massillon Road just north of the nursery will be finished August 22nd making navigation a breeze when south bound on the road. The grasses in the perennial house are plentiful with additions of some more varieties of varying heights and colors such as Pennisetum ‘Burgundy Bunny’ and Panicum ‘Prairifire’ that has a red blush on the otherwise blue-green foliage. The small Garden Treasure miniature roses have really flushed out saturating the small leaved plants with flowers of red, white, magenta, yellow, amber, orange and a yellow and orange bicolor call Pieces of Eight. The Seiberling sweet corn is still coming on with that oh-so-sweet quality. Finally the market has sported the small but so delicious doughnut peaches that just explode with flavor with just one bite. Just another reminder. . . time is running out to use your Dayton Dollars! Tom