Dennis Patton was no stranger to avid Johnson County gardeners.
Armed with a lifetime of knowledge, Patton dedicated his career to educating the public on horticulture and offering gardeners around the Kansas City metro area advice on anything from trees and stink bugs to annual tips on seeding lawns.
The horticulture agent, who served the K-State Research and Extension Office in Johnson County for 35 years, died on March 16 after a puzzling, months-long battle with lung cancer.
Now, the Kansas City gardening community is mourning Patton, who colleagues and friends say was passionate about education, Johnson County and Kansas State University.
‘Life’s too short for ugly plants’
Tara Markley, the director of Johnson County K-State Research and Extension, said one of Patton’s favorite phrases was “life is too short for ugly plants.”
For Patton, the saying embodied his passion for education and community engagement, Markley said. It served as a way for Patton to encourage gardeners to take action with plants or landscapes they disliked.
A part of Patton’s legacy can be seen in the nine demonstration gardens he worked to develop, all of which teach gardeners about what is possible to plant in their own yards.
Patton also helped develop and bring the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens to Johnson County, Markley added.
Markley said she’ll remember Patton as a kind and witty person, a mentor and an advocate for quality of life.
The research and extension office is working on a way to honor Patton, as well.
“For us it’s about maintaining his legacy,” Markley said. “That legacy is about horticulture, education, quality of life that Johnson Countians expect, and working with people.”
Markley encourages those who want to carry on Patton’s legacy to plant what makes them happy, educate themselves about horticulture, and visit one of the nine demonstration gardens in Johnson County.
Patton built the Master Gardeners program
Markley said that when Patton came to the Johnson County office in 1986, the extension master gardener program had just been brought to Kansas.
Extension master gardeners is a volunteer program that educates the public on horticultural information and works to preserve and beautify the environment. Patton was at the helm of the program.
Over the years, Patton constantly asked how the research and extension office could improve the extension gardeners program, Markley said. For the program volunteers, Patton was “our true north,” she said.
Markley said Johnson County is home to 459 active extension master gardeners to date, making it one of if not the largest in the nation. Patton knew every single Johnson County extension master gardener by name, Markley said.
In summer 2023, Johnson County hosted the International Master Gardeners Conference.
It was the first time ever that a county — instead of a university — hosted the conference, and it “was because of Dennis and the program that he built,” Markley said.
The extension master gardeners program also led to the creation of a food volunteers program and a naturalists program. All three combined see more than 1,100 volunteers. That number of engaged citizens giving back to the community through extension work is unique to Johnson County, Markley said.
“I truly believe it’s because Dennis walked through this program and pushed this office to do more and engage more,” Markley said.
‘The epitome of what a caring person is’
Chuck Otte, a former Geary County extension office agent, became lifelong friends with Patton through their work at the research and extension office.
Otte said he and Patton knew that if they needed each other, they just needed a quick call and they’d be there for one another.
“I call him a brother,” Otte said. “There is the family you’re born with, and then there is the family you choose. He was definitely a brother that I chose.”
Otte said he’ll always remember his last in-person conversation with Patton, which took place at the 2023 International Extension Master Gardeners Conference in Johnson County. The pair talked about retirement, something Patton planned to do some time after the conference, Otte said.
Patton, who had “a wealth of knowledge,” had a desire to help others learn and give them tools for solutions rather than fixing horticulture issues for them, Otte said.
While he didn’t know the Patton family well, Otte said, he remembers Patton’s love for his family. Otte said Patton would always talk about his family, and recalls Patton’s excitement for the return of one of his sons from overseas.
“The love he had for his family, the love he had for his job, the love he had for the people he helped,” Otte said. “It was just the epitome of what a caring person is.”
Markley said that first and foremost, Patton was a family man who put his wife, two sons and dogs above all else.
“He extended that family to the extension master gardeners and our whole K-State Research and Extension family,” Markley said. “That was who he was. He was so loving.”
Friends are invited to a service on Friday
- Friends are welcome to attend a service from 1 to 5 p.m. on Friday at the LongHouse at the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.
- Attendees are encouraged to reminisce with family or visit the garden, which is part of Patton’s legacy.
Go deeper: Donations can be made in honor of Patton to the Johnson County Extension Education Foundation online here.
