This past Thursday night was one of the highlights of my life. My colleagues and students celebrated the grand opening of our new 7,000 square feet trial garden in the Plantery, our student botanic garden on campus. This project has been in the works since we applied for a $32,000 grant last fall with the Center for Applied Research and Rural Innovation. We requested the funding to build a trial garden to evaluate herbaceous native plants in the southeast similar to the gardens you see at Chicago Botanic Garden or Mt. Cuba Center. I can’t tell you how many hundreds of hours went into this project, but we are beyond proud to have it to the point where we can open it to the public.
I’ll have a more detailed post at some point in the future, but I can provide a brief design synopsis. Since the site is sloped, we decided to build a terrace out of 1/4 inch metal similar to Corten steel with steps running offset through the middle and a platform near the top. Our aesthetic in the Plantery is for the space to look like a reclaimed farm since we are part of the Department of Agriculture, and when the metal rusts, the patina will fit in nicely with the landscape. Their are five large terraces that will allow us to do replicated trials of natives over three year periods, and the surrounding space will feature less formal evaluations of species. Perforated pipes were installed and covered with grit to allow for rainwater capture on site so that the terraces don’t turn into the Plantery waterfall garden.
What amazed me was the capability of our team and the spirit of the students. We didn’t contract things out. No, instead it was over 30 students working alongside faculty to get this project accomplished and learn lifelong skills. We still have to finish planting some things in the spring, but it is so good to get the garden to a point where we can share it with others. Here’s a few pictures to give you a sense of the site.
We integrated our trial garden grand opening into our Fall Plant Fair where we sold student-grown plants. And, if you’re going to have a grand opening, it is important to have cake and mocktails! Enjoy these photos of the night.