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Dayton Nursery’s New Owl Barn & Green Roof
Spring 2010
Dayton Nurseries in Norton has been busy all last
summer and fall with plenty of new additions to the nursery.
The most notable is the new barn that is a composite of
many 100 year old plus barns that gives it the look of a Wisconsin dairy
barn that is similar to the one that burned on the property in 1963, and
nearly in the same location where it once stood.
The barn is decorated inside with tongue and groove
pine barn siding that covers the walls and the peak of the ceiling that
rises 26 feet from the floor.
Large 6 foot and 8 foot double hung, energy efficient
windows are in abundance to let in the natural light and air (in the spring
and summer)
Environmental concerns were one of the top priorities
of the construction in that the roof has insulation of an R-60 value while
the walls have nearly an R-30 which is well above government standards.
The rainfall striking the gambrel roof is drained to an
irrigation lake about 800 feet east from the barn that will increase the
amount of water available for irrigation so that the runoff water does not
drain into Van Hyning Run which would add to erosion problems and flooding
downstream.
Another unique feature of the barn is its green roof on
the south and west sides of the porch roof which will further reduce the
water runoff and provide cooling of the porch roof in summer.
The green roof consists of 6 varieties of multi-colored
Sedums that can tolerate winter cold and summer heat and dryness with little
or no attention.
The barn will be used for continuing education
seminars, flower shows, a summer produce market and an entrance to the
ongoing endeavor of the Wolf Creek botanical display garden.
The garden plantings expanded exponentially last year
with additional plantings of dwarf conifers, shade perennials, bamboos,
Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Mountain Laurels, spring flowering bulbs and
numerous native plants.
A view of the garden traveling on Cleveland-Massillon
Rd. from the north will include 15,000+ daffodils showing off in April with
200 Creeping Phlox plants ablaze with color in the month of May.
Above all of these fires of bloom are the 2-4 ton
boulders that contain the bank on which the barn sits high above the lower
“floor” of the gardens.
Cascading down the boulder wall on the north side of
the barn is a waterfall that runs its course of about 70 feet after multiple
falls that must navigate a vertical digs of 18 feet.
Another ongoing project this year is Dayton’s addition
of a blueberry patch in which the berries will be for a pick-your-own
operation and to supply the produce market in summer.
The produce market will include the standard fare of
locally grown produce including sweet corn, squash, melons, beans, potatoes…
with fresh fruit such as peaches and apples later on.
The barn will provide another avenue for those shoppers
interested in locally grown produce as the location is convenient being just
¼ mile north of I-76/US 224 on Cleveland-Massillon Rd in Norton. |
