Cover Story: Garden Gallery to honor Dennis Patton
By Gerald Hay
The late horticulturist Dennis Patton had a favorite saying: “Life is too short for ugly plants.”
Johnson County’s Extension Master Gardeners, or EMGs, fondly remember his advice and wit as an educator and gardening master. They also sadly mourn his death.
Patton, a well-respected horticulture agent at the Johnson County K-State Research and Extension Office, died on March 16, 2024, of lung cancer. He was 64.
A year later, plans have taken root to rename the demonstration garden located at the southeast corner of the Sunset Drive Office Building, 11811 S. Sunset Drive, Olathe, after him. Dedication of the Dennis Patton Garden Gallery will be celebrated from 4 to 5:30 p.m. May 21.
“He would react humbly but also be quite honored to have the garden named after him,” said Marsha Ruse, a master gardener since 2007.
Larry Justice, an EMG for 19 years, agreed, but noting: “He didn’t do things for attention.”
Both master gardeners were among the volunteers involved in planning, designing, planting and opening the Garden Gallery in May 2007. They have also helped other master gardeners to maintain the site ever since.
According to Ruse, Patton planted the seeds to establish a demonstration garden at the Sunset Drive Office Building when the facility opened in 2006. Planning for and designing of the Garden Gallery began immediately with its public debut in May 2007.
“This was his baby,” she said with a smile.
A master gardener since 2001, Wendy Clay cited Patton’s practical side in investments in the gardening community.
Dennis Patton
“He would be embarrassed over all the fuss,” she said. “Dennis considered himself a frugal gardener. For Extension to spend money on a new Garden Gallery sign would seem silly to him.”
So be it on May 21 and beyond.
The Garden Gallery was the seventh demonstration garden established in Johnson County’s EMG program. There are nine gardens located in Olathe, Overland Park, Fairway, Prairie Village and Shawnee. All sites are maintained by master gardeners.
Ruse, Justice and Clay spoke fondly about their experiences with Dennis Patton and what they learned from him, whether it was in a classroom or in a garden. He called the close-knit community of gardeners in Johnson County, K-State Extension staff and master gardeners his “family.”
“Dennis was easy to meet and related to everyone,” Justice said. “We were very fortunate to have had him as our county horticulture agent for over 35 years.”
Preparing for a new season of plants and flowers has already started at the garden. Shortly after the seasonal arrival of spring, 28 master gardeners gathered at the Garden Gallery, spending the morning working at the site for visiting by residents and the unveiling of the Dennis Patton Garden Gallery.
After an hour-long presentation on gardening and pruning tips, the volunteers scattered individually or in small groups to perform various tasks for the demonstration garden cleanup.
They raked and bagged leaves. Some removed dried and dead vegetation.
Others cut herbaceous perennials close to the ground to make way for new growth emerging at the base of the flowers.
Some trimmed away tattered foliage or winter damage from plants.
A few volunteers pruned shrubs and brushes.
Mulching would come later. According to the gardening experts, mulch does many wonderful things in gardening: conserves water, cools plant roots, feeds the soil and smothers weeds.
That’s a future task for master gardeners to meet and do.
A few plants – tulips, daffodils and other early spring bloomers – greeted the volunteers. Most of the flowers and plants in the demonstration garden at the time were just starting to make their spring appearance.
The Garden Gallery features a smorgasbord of flowers, plants, shrubs and bushes along with a few trees and evergreens. The site is arranged in various sections, including gardens with butterfly, rain, cottage and native plants. Small signs have been posted to identify much of the vegetation. The garden is open to the public all year.
There are perennials and annuals aplenty, including roses, clematis, hydrangea brushes, peonies, daisies, catmint, phlox, butterfly milkweed, coneflowers and sunflowers, to name a few. The colorful peaks of various plants come and go throughout the year in their seasonal cycle of nature.
The demonstration garden encompasses about half an acre in a large, not perfect, rectangle with small paths snaking between various gardens.
There are officially 692 plants in the gardening site, but that’s not a full count. Many plants have the same common names, but differing varieties, such as hydrangeas, hostas and hibiscus, for example.
In the weeks ahead and with other tasks, master gardeners hope to ensure the Garden Galley has few, if any, ugly plants on May 21.
Time will tell, but to borrow another favorite line by Dennis Patton: “It depends.”