Daylilies for Harrison Park

Beautiful Daylilies in Harrison Park

by Bob Mangia

This past month has been full of activity in Harrison Park. We have seen the completion of the gazebo roof, irrigation installed, final grading and grass seed planted. In a stroke of luck for us, four beds planted have also been planted up with masses of daylilies. The north and south entries to the park along with a triangular bed adjacent to Harrison Park Place were filled to bursting just last week. The daylilies were a chance gift to Harrison Park from the Scioto Mile project downtown. They had originally been planted in and along Bicentennial Park and were happily waiting for opening day, but due to a change of plans, they needed to find a new home.

“They were just starting to bloom and would need to be planted immediately if the daylilies were going to survive,” agreed Maureen Lorenz from Columbus Recreation and Parks and the landscape designer for the Scioto Mile area. Having worked on the design and construction of Harrison Park with the Harrison West Society for years, Lorenz advocated for the daylilies to be donated to us. “I knew I had recommended daylilies for Harrison Park, so I asked Rob [Harris, HWS President] if the park could still use them and he said YES!”

The plants were removed and relocated in a matter of a few days thanks to our friends at Oakland Nursery; no one wanted to see these plants destroyed, composted or wasted. Evelyn with Oakland had her crew pull the plants and put them in containers for us to plant. She even offered a driver, who delivered approximately 400 plants to the park in two truckloads early in the week. Matthew Williams started planting but quickly realized that getting so many plants in before they died was going to take a lot more than a few hands. With the help of the crew from Wilson’s Landscaping, who was already on site planting in other parts of the park, the four beds are now ready to greet visitors.

After Wilson’s finished their planting, we had a few dozen extra plants that were still homeless. After some brainstorming and not a few e-mails, we decided to plant them around the sugar maple in the center of Funk-ee-Town playground. Rob Harris and Tim Bledsoe spent a few hours over the weekend finishing up that bed.

A few things remain to be completed in the park, but we’re nearly there after a long, long wait and lots and lots of work by our dedicated volunteers and contractors. Keep an eye out for the announcement of our ribbon cutting ceremony and a cookout in the park this summer. We’ll also be sending out a volunteer opportunity announcement to enlist your help spreading mulch in the newly-planted beds.

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