Parks, Recreation & Leisure

Parks, Recreation & Leisure / Parks & Forestry

Tree Talk

Landscaping Tips | Plant of the Month | Tree Talk

Bigger is Better

Men view gardening as a competitive sport. Greenest lawn, earliest and biggest tomatoes, biggest pumpkins. Bigger is better. A guy looks at a bed of giant dahlias and does not see the spindly stems held up by stakes and ties, he only sees the huge dinner plate blossoms. His wife sees the dahlias as beauty queens on crutches. She would rather have a bed of geraniums.
It is guys who obsess over roses, overlooking bare stems and black spot to cherish that perfect gorgeous bloom. Bigger is better. Ladies are much more practical. They know that the prettiest roses come from the florist.

Dr. William Havener was known for growing giant pumpkins in addition to his skills as an ophthalmologist at Ohio State. Dr. John Peter Minton now has a rose garden named in his honor at the Chadwick Arboretum. They both knew that in horticulture, bigger is better, and there is more to life than surgery.
I have been attracted to trees all my life for much the same reason. Rare is good, bigger is better, rare and big is best. Now I must say that I am sure there are ladies out there growing giant tomatoes, giant pumpkins and dahlias. There surely are ladies who like trees. They tend to be less obsessive and competitive about it.

Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Westcott house in Springfield, Ohio in 1904 with large urns flanking the terrace. Cast sandstone reproductions of the Westcott House urn are available at www.nicholsbros.com. They are smaller than the originals and no price is listed (if you have to ask...). The original Westcott urns, still in place, are seven feet high. Frank Lloyd Wright was a guy. He knew that bigger is better.

Parks & Forestry Division
Parks & Recreation Department
City of Upper Arlington
3600 Tremont Road
Upper Arlington, OH 43221
Phone: 614-583-5340