Aullwood Garden MetroPark

To many, Marie Aull was the godmother of the environmental movement in southwestern Ohio. As both a conservationist and gardener, she loved Dayton and its natural beauty, and she devoted her life to preserving it. Visitors to her former country garden retreat can enjoy the collection of wildflowers, beautiful gardens and natural areas she and her husband, John, worked for years to curate.

For decades, this living work of art has touched visitors emotionally and spiritually with its diversity and abundance of floral displays, towering trees and serenity. The 35-acre park has the picturesque and spring-fed Wiles Creek, a prairie, woods and gardens planted with native and exotic flowers.

Marie Aull lived on the property from 1924 through her death in 2002 at 105. She donated Aullwood to Five Rivers MetroParks in 1977 and co-existed with park visitors for 25 years. The house and gardens are on the Ohio National Register of Historic places.

"We always said we wanted the garden to look as if it belonged here. The reason we don't grow dahlias or have beds of petunias is that we want the garden to look natural....anybody can grow garden flowers but you don't grow wildflowers unless you cooperate with them." -- Marie Aull