For him, Landis Homes isn’t just a retirement community— it’s fertile ground for both ecological stewardship and personal renewal.


Enriching


Lives, Together


Don doesn’t just grow wild pawpaws. He also practices grafting, a process that ensures better fruit quality by combining wild rootstock with cultivated varieties that have proven flavor and appeal. “Each pawpaw seed grows into a tree with its own genetic traits,” he explains. “You could wait seven years and end up with a bitter fruit you don’t like.” By grafting desirable cultivars—many developed by Neal Peterson, a pawpaw expert and mentor to Don—onto native roots, Don ensures that the trees bear reliably delicious fruit.


From his second-floor home on south campus, Don looks out over a patch he calls “Squirrel Woods,” where his beloved pawpaw trees grow. For him, Landis Homes isn’t just a retirement community—it’s fertile ground for both ecological stewardship and personal renewal.


So next time you stroll the trails of Landis Homes and catch a glimpse of a cluster of drooping green fruit or—if you’re lucky—a rare zebra swallowtail butterfly, you might just be walking through Don Ziegler’s legacy—a quiet orchard of resilience, care, and curiosity planted with purpose.


Landis.org | FLOURISH | Summer 2025 • 9


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