Kenneth D. Cochran, Secrest Arboretum of The Ohio State University Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster, Ohio; and James A. Chatfield, Ohio State University Extension, Northeast District and Department of Horticulture and Crop Science.
Dr. Oliver D. (Ollie) Diller, a renowned professional forester and avid holly fancier lived in a charming, heavily wooded hideaway estate on Wayne Avenue in Wooster, Ohio. Ollie also was once chair of the Ohio State University's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) Department of Forestry and the second curator of Secrest Arboretum, following the tenure of Edmund Secrest himself.
At his home, Ollie developed and maintained a private arboretum including many unusual trees and shrubs and many hollies. His enchanting estate included a small barn where he annually bagged hundreds of berry-laden holly sprigs to give to convalescent homes, local nurses, and his list of friends. Each Christmas folks looked forward to a bag of "Ollie's Hollies."
Ollie's gracious livelihood in growing and giving hollies not only contributed much toward the promotion of holly (genus Ilex) but also helped to extol its virtues to many friends and neighbors. The joy of sharing plant material with friends is rewarding!
So as we study the Ilex of Secrest, let us remember the work of Ollie Diller and his colleague, John Ford, who started this collection at OARDC's Secrest Arboretum in 1965 so that we might all have hardier and better cultivars!
Avid gardeners enthusiastically grow and use hollies in garden making, but for many consumers, the growing and use of hollies in Ohio is unfamiliar. The information presented here should be helpful to new holly growers and old holly hands alike.