Native Plants at Wright Library
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Funding
Generous funding made these projects possible. Thank you to our partners: Four Seasons Garden Club, MOMs of Oakwood, Girl Scouts of America, Wright Memorial Public Library Foundation, and Montgomery County.
About Wright Library's Native Plant Gardens
Thanks to community volunteers and grant funding, two gardens featuring Ohio's indigenous plants were established on Wright Library's grounds in the spring of 2022. The project grew out of support from local civic groups and individuals energized by the library's ecology education programs and the idea of adding native plants in a suburban landscape to support local and migrating pollinators and birds.
Native Pollinator Sun Garden
Located on the southeast corner of the library's lot, the sun garden consists of over 32 different species of plants and meets the qualifications to be part of the Monarch Waystation Program. Signs within the garden educate on the importance of pollinators and the benefits of including native plants in the urban landscape.
Since the garden planning began in September 2020, the library has continued to gather community support, create community partnerships, locate funding, and add to the garden. In April 2021, the Community Read of the book Nature's Best Hope by Douglas Tallamy galvanized support and resources for the native garden at Wright Library.
Green Oakwood, a local citizen group focused on sustainability, as well as the Dayton native plant nursery Tadmor Greenes have been heavily involved in the progress. The sun garden is a combined effort of Wright Library, OSU Extension Master Gardener Volunteers (OSUE MGV); Dayton Area Wild Ones; Oakwood Girl Scout Lilly Rich; and Green Oakwood.
Native Shade Garden
The northeast side of the library site features over 90 native plants that thrive in shade. A Serviceberry Tree is surrounded by native bushes and a variety of Ohio’s beautiful spring ephemeral wildflowers and groundcover.
Oakwood resident Cheryl Vargas stepped forward as a volunteer keen on establishing a native landscape for the library. Through her involvement with Greater Dayton Partners for the Environment, Green Oakwood, MEEC (Marianist Environmental Education), and Dayton Area Wild Ones, she brings a depth of knowledge and commitment to the shade garden development and community education.