Dayton "Dirt" - August 5, 2016

By now, most gardeners know that a favorite shrub for summer color are the myriad varieties of hydrangeas with their kaleidoscope of colors of summer blooms for full sun or partial shade depending on the variety.

Along the road at the nursery next to the white post and rail fence is the paniculata type hydrangea known as Vanilla Strawberry. Vanilla Strawberry will eventually attain a height of about 6 feet and a width around 4 feet. These hydrangea were planted 3 years ago in November and this year have finally come into their own. Just this past week the pure white flowers have begun to take on a partial strawberry-colored blend; hence, the name, Strawberry Vanilla. Behind the fence are about  20 perennial hibiscus of white, pink and the ever popular deep red color. Some of the plants are big and bulky having been planted almost 10 years ago while others are a mere 2 or 3 branches having been planted only last fall. Soon, all the hibiscus will just peek over the hydrangea and provide a multicolored back drop for the Vanilla Strawberry. Annual flowers are in the foreground to display another riot of color.

At the nursery, another exciting development is the soon to begin installation of solar panels on the main store building. The first phase of construction will cancel out one of the two electric meters on  the building. Within 3-5 years, another phase of construction will eliminate all the other charges from the meters on the property. Even with a long payback period of about 9 years, the solar energy produced will greatly reduce the carbon footprint of the nursery operations and move things closer to the ultimate goal of true sustainability. The solar energy makes good business sense too as the ever more costly electricity from the First Energy Company is becoming too much of a burden on operations. After 9 years, the solar panels will pay nothing but dividends. The hope is that in a few years, an affordable safe battery that can store large amounts of excess power generated in the day will be able to provide power at night to enable the possibility of getting off or almost getting off the grid. Ultimately, the goal here at the nursery is to provide products to beautify the environment without placing a burden on that environment.

Tom