By Kevin Greer
Lakeside Communications Manager
Dottie McDowell had an interest in the Lakeside Daisy Garden from the time it was established by Sid Foster on the waterfront near Perry Park in 2000. When weeds started to pop and take away some of its beauty about 10 years later, she wanted to help.
“I spoke up and said I would be willing to work on that if I wasn’t stepping on Sid’s toes,” McDowell said. “After I got the go-ahead, I enlisted my son, his wife, my sister and her husband and we got a lot of the weeds out. I’ve been weeding the garden ever since.”
The bright Lakeside Daisy (Hymenoxys herbacea) is one of Ohio’s most spectacular wildflowers. This long-lived perennial grows where few others can, on nearly barren limestone rock in full sunlight.
The bright yellow flowers of the Lakeside Daisy adorn the otherwise bleak, sunbaked landscape of the Marblehead Quarry, the only natural population of the daisy in the U.S. It’s a federally threatened species and has been listed as endangered in Ohio since 1980.
Lakeside is fortunate to have its own patch of Lakeside Daisies. They start to bloom in late April to early May, so that’s when McDowell starts pulling weeds. She said she puts in approximately 56 hours a year taking care of the garden. There was an instance when she saw a photo of the garden posted on Facebook that had a dandelion in it, so she went to work.
“I guess I’m kind of taking personal responsibility and pressure by taking care of the garden,” McDowell said.
McDowell wants to ensure that the next generation enjoys the Lakeside Daisies. She is giving now to help set up an endowment that will help care for the garden in the future and is working with Kyle Bueter, Lakeside’s Director of Horticulture, to ensure that the care of the daisy is well documented.
“I’ll be around to help and educate them about this wonderful, endangered species that we’re fortunate to have right here in Lakeside,” McDowell said.
McDowell inherited the cottage her parents bought in 1954. She grew up in Akron and after a few years living in Hanover, Pennsylvania, with her husband, they moved back to Ohio and started to spend more time in Lakeside.
She volunteered her time at the Rhein Center but hasn’t done that since the beginning of the pandemic. For over two decades, she and her husband, who was a horticulturalist, were instrumental in helping prevent the spread of the highly destructive and invasive garlic mustard at Magee Marsh, one of her favorite places to go bird watching.
She noticed it growing in Lakeside, south of Fifth Street, in Chautauqua Park and in some yards, and has been doing her best to keep it from becoming a problem.
“My husband felt that if you pull the garlic mustard and got it out of an area, it could be controlled,” McDowell said. “It’s pretty ugly and crowds out other wildflowers. If you don’t pull it out, it will just take over everything.”
McDowell said Fran Rodstrom and her family and friends have helped significantly in getting rid of garlic mustard. On one occasion, McDowell went up to the park to pull the weeds only to find Rodstrom and her group finished the job.
“They did it all and that’s what I’d always hoped,” McDowell said. “It was really nice. I was very happy to see somebody else take over a job like that. Sometimes you set an example, and somebody picks it up.”
Even though McDowell is in her early 80s, she’s not slowing down her volunteering and contributions to Lakeside.
“I’m feeling as good or better than I have in the past year,” she said. “I have no reason to think that I won’t be able to continue to do that.”
The Lakesider newspaper would like to recognize Lakesiders for the volunteer work that goes unnoticed. If you would like to be recognized or know someone who should, email to kevin@lakesideohio.com or call 419-798-4461, ext. 331.
