David Drylie: Winner of the Mike Kenton Award of Recognition
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David Marsh Drylie, Jr., landscape architect
and owner, Green Images Native Landscape
Plants, a wholesale and retail native nursery in
Christmas, received the Mike Kenton Award
of Recognition in 2018.
As a child, David enjoyed
roaming the woods on family
property in South Georgia, where
he fished, hunted and ate wild
blackberries. A high school aptitude
test recommended a career
in forestry, but his Gainesville,
Florida, garden club mother suggested
he look into landscape architecture.
Two summers working
as an intern at Callaway Gardens,
Georgia, helped him get interested
in botany. He received additional
encouragement and
mentoring for many years from
Bob Craig, U.S. Department of
Agriculture and coastal vegetation
expert, and Noel Lake, University
of Florida (UF) campus
landscape architect who advocated
for native plants and reintroduced
the Shumard Oak,
Winged Elm, Needle Palms and
Magnolia trees, among others, to
the UF campus.
David is a pioneer of the
Florida native plant movement.
He began using native plants in his designs
as a landscape architecture student at the
University of Florida in the late 1970s. He
was in class with Larry Alsobrook, another
early native plant enthusiast and
movement pioneer. Together
they researched propagation of
native plant species and bid on a
national project that earned
them a student government
grant. With the exception of a
small amount of required turf,
David specified all native plants
on the plan in his landscape architect
licensure exam. As a new
young landscape architect, he
advocated with colleagues and
clients to use more native plants
and quickly recognized that he
would need to grow the plants
he wanted to use.
David became a grower in
1982, working for years with
Steve Riefler to identify and
propagate native plants with potential
for sustainable Central
Florida landscapes. Together
they introduced Cordgrass,
Muhlygrass and Saw Palmetto,
among others. David believes he
was the first nurseryman to list
"Silver Saw Palmetto," now an
industry staple, on his price list. He purchased
Riefler’s Nursery, a 1-acre operation
on Curry Ford Road in Orlando, and later
traded it for property in Green Images’ current
location in Christmas.
Service to the industry and leadership
were early imperatives for David. He served
as president of Central Florida’s Tarflower
Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society
from 1983-1986. David influenced many
municipalities to use native plants and directly
impacted landscape ordinances for
Orange and Seminole Counties. In 1985, he
contributed to the first Orange County tree
ordinance.
In 1986, David was a founding board
member for the Association of Florida Native
Nurseries and together with others, created
the Native Plant & Service Directory.
He served as president from 1990-1993 and
1995-1996.
He then became active in the Florida
Chapter of the American Society of Landscape
Architecture (FASLA), where he served
as secretary (1997-1998), president (2000)
and trustee (2002-2004). He organized and
led the FASLA’s political action committee,
the Friends of Landscape Architecture.
FANN is grateful to David for his many
years of innovation and advocacy, his continued
support for our association and the
wisdom he brings to every conversation.
“For 35 years or more, David has been serving the profession of landscape architecture.
In Florida, he continues to be one of the profession’s strongest advocates
for environmental stewardship; often citing the ASLA Code of
Environmental Ethics. More than most, David lives and fulfills the ASLA
mission, to lead, educate, and participate in the careful stewardship, wise
planning, and artful design of our cultural and natural environment.
Elected at least once to nearly every ASLA leadership position, David has a
long record of working hard and smart. Many landscape architects who follow
his lead, watch, listen, and learn from David. David’s example continues
to teach how to prepare and deliver useful, influential, and impactful information
to elected and appointed government officials. Noteworthy is
David’s remarkable and long-lived success organizing and leading the
FLASLA Government Affairs Committee, and establishing the Friends of
Landscape Architecture, a political action committee. Before others, David
understood the importance of investing in strong and steady advocacy; necessary to strengthen the profession and to protect
Florida’s natural resources and scenic beauty.” —Jeff Caster, Florida State Transportation Landscape Architect
Mike Kenton was a
much loved nurseryman
who founded an
early native plant
nursery in Pasco
County, specializing
in rare and endangered
plants, and
generally offering a
few samples of nearly
every Florida native
plant our members
have learned to grow.
FANN presents the
Mike Kenton award
annually to a member
in recognition of significant
value and
service to the Florida
native plant industry.
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