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ENGLEWOOD — Lynn Millikin was tending the lilacs at the far corner of Aullwood Garden on a recent Thursday afternoon when he was told he was needed at the Aull house immediately.

"I was flabbergasted!" says Millikin, whose eyes filled with tears when he walked through the door and realized the shouts of "SURPRISE!" were in honor of his 30-year anniversary with Five Rivers MetroParks.

At the festive gathering, friends and colleagues paid tribute to the man whose love of plants and local history have been inspiring them for decades. They presented him with —what else? — an engraved soil knife.

If you've been to Aullwood Garden in the past 27 years, chances are you've encountered the friendly gentleman digging in the flower beds.

Officially, he's a "horticultural technician," responsible for caring for one of the Miami Valley's most spectacular sanctuaries — the 31 acres of gardens and woodlands that was once the country retreat of area philanthropists John and Marie Aull.

Unofficially, Millikin, 57, also is adviser, storyteller, educator — always willing to respond to a visitor's question: What should I do with my invasive weeds? When should I prune? What perennial will thrive in the shade? And what was it like to garden alongside the famous Mrs. Aull?

Millikin is always happy to set aside his rake and accommodate.

"He tells such interesting stories about the garden's history, and that's what makes our weeding time go faster," says Jena Bosworth, who has worked with Millikin for the past year. "You'd think that after so many years in the same job someone would be burnt out, but Lynn is still so energetic."

Millikin says that's because the special garden —with its abundant display of diverse plant life — is ever-changing.

"You have to come here on a regular basis to see the changes," he says. "I've never seen two springs alike, every year is different. Plants are coming and going all the time, and we have blooms most months of the year. One of Mrs. Aull's favorites was the yellow Adonis — and once or twice it bloomed on her birthday — January 8!"

Mrs. Aull, who lived in the home until her death in 2002 at the age of 105, graciously opened her garden gate to the public while she was in residence. Her home and woodsy trails, once off-limit to visitors, are now available, as well.

Keeping up with it all isn't easy. In winter, Millikin re-lines the gravel paths with rocks, performs maintenance on equipment, prunes trees, scrubs and bushes and works on the informative bulletin board plant labels that educate visitors about what's currently in bloom. In warmer months, he and other staffers are mowing, planting, trimming, giving tours — and forever digging up the weeds.

"We hand weed everything, and we don't use a lot of chemicals," he explains. "It's natural mulch — we collect leaves in the fall and put them back in the flower beds and let them decompose."

The beautiful garden regularly attracts a wide variety of birds and butterflies, and a wide variety of human beings, as well: moms and toddlers on an outing, school groups, love-struck couples, individuals in search of quiet time out.

Millikin says the secret of successful gardening is to know your plant — whether it can stand shade or sun, whether it needs moist soil or dry. As for Millikin's favorite flower, he says every time something blooms it's his favorite.

It's not just the Aulls who've called this garden home: For 15 years Millikin and his wife and son lived in the caretaker's house on the grounds.

"Aullwood Road was originally just a wagon road for a horse and buggy," Millikin relates. "The stream was moved away from the house after the 1913 flood."

Millikin says today's beautifully landscaped garden continues to reflect Mrs. Aull's preferred color scheme: blue, lavender, yellow."

"She called this her Sea of Blue," he says, pointing to the tens of thousands of Virginia bluebells covering the hillside. "She planted 500 of them originally, and they spread. Each year we would dig up and divide the bluebells, then put cuttings at the edge of the driveway for visitors to take."

Mrs. Aull, he adds, was a generous person who loved the out-of-doors and loved to make other people happy.

But, like all of us, she had her moments. Once, when Millikin planted a new shipment of tulip bulbs and they came up bright red, Mrs. Aull was not pleased.

"She hated red, and she told me I had ordered them that way, " he remembers. "But she wrote out that order form herself; I just took the order to the post office."

Wisely, Millikin didn't correct his boss.

Horticulturalist Sheree Cyra, who has worked alongside Millikin since 1997, says he has a great sense of humor and is fun to work with.

"He's steady, he's dedicated and he really cares about this place," she says.

Millikin cares so much about this garden that —although he is now eligible for retirement— he isn't ready to hang up his hoe.

"I like the dirt," he says. "I grew up on a farm, and I played in the dirt. I've been out-of-doors all my life. If I'm cooped up too long, it drives me crazy."

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2440 or mmoss@DaytonDailyNews.com.

How to go

What: Aullwood Garden MetroPark, 955 Aullwood Road, adjacent to Englewood Metro Park

When: Open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Free parking on the grounds.

For a free guided tour of the Aull house and gardens, call (937) 278-8231. The tour lasts about two hours.

At an upcoming Tea Talk: Visitors will make a shady container garden. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday, May 13. Reservations required. There will be a small charge for plants and materials.

To learn what's blooming at Aullwood Garden: Visit www.metroparks.org

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