Hamilton sits at 587 feet where the Great Miami River cuts a broad floodplain through Butler County, and that river shapes nearly every yard here. Bottomland silt loam near the water runs deep and fertile but compacts and puddles after the 43 inches of rain the city sees each year, while properties climbing the bluffs toward Northgate and Groesbeck fight thin topsoil and runoff on grade. In Zone 6b, with frost bracketing the season from late April to about October 20, beds need mulch that insulates without smothering. Sculpture gardens downtown and formal plantings out toward The Village of Indian Hill and Wyoming call for clean dark hardwood, while gravel and limestone handle drainage duty on the slopes.