Blog #3- The Holden Arboretum

    First thing in the morning on our second day, Mr. Biggar, Dani, and I ventured off to the Holden Arboretum located in Kirtland, OH, to get a feel for the plants we want to use in our garden. We spent about an hour there looking around and taking notes/pictures on all the plants we liked and wanted to use. For our project, Dani and I decided that we wanted to use pollinator plants and native plants to Northeastern Ohio in order to keep the theme of our garden local. We looked and took notice of many different plants and animals. We were able to take note of over 40 different species of plants, annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees. 

After coming back to school from Holden, Dani and I did further research on all of them eliminating the ones that were too big, an invasive species, attracted too many animals, or were not native to northeastern Ohio. In our garden, we hope to attract many butterflies and bees in order to pay homage to the White Family. We want to keep this campus beautiful and create a beautiful space for all, that could mainly maintain itself. During our research, Dani and I wanted to keep in mind the kind of climate we are in, the wind patterns, how much sun the garden is going to get, and the frequency of rain. 

Hours later, and Dani and I still had about 15 plants on our list. We fell in love with all of the colors and smells of the plants that were at Holden Arboretum and we cannot decide on which ones we want to get rid of. We do not know how many we want to have in our garden, but we know that 15 is too many to include. And at the end of the day, we were able to get measurements of the garden space, pool, and wall in order to see how many plants can fit. I am very excited to see where this project goes!