Volume 12, Number 3, 2004
It may be that good things come in sevens--seven continents, seven seas, Seven Wonders of the World ... and seven gardens in the University of Delaware Botanic Gardens (UDBG) system.
While the UDBG isn't on the same scale as the others, it certainly is worth a visit. And, when you do visit these gardens on the grounds of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, plan on spending some time.
In early spring, the Charles Dunham Entranceway Garden erupts with blush-touched white magnolia blossoms, the many benches inviting visitors to linger and enjoy this natural spectacle and heavenly fragrance.
In summer, the Herbaceous Garden, also known as the perennial garden, is a popular spot. Visitors stroll its winding paths, taking in the progression of blooms from June through September. Here, too, people are persuaded to dally, just a little, on the bench under the canopy of a goldenrain tree.
In winter, the national holly test site, located to the left of the Fischer Greenhouse Laboratory, doesn't disappoint with its more than 30 cultivars of ilex, all bursting with berries.
However, the UDBG is more than a place to take pleasure in a natural setting. It also is a research center, a laboratory and a classroom in which studies in entomology, plant biology and plant pathology are pursued through hands-on experiential learning.
The original garden in front of Townsend Hall was established in the mid-1960s with a donation from Emily Clark Diffenback. The Clark Garden contains the oldest specimens in the garden complex and, for 40 years, has been an invaluable aid in teaching courses in subjects ranging from woody and herbaceous plants to garden design and construction. The garden includes a Japanese maple more than 80 years old, with arching branches that swoop inward, touching the ground and making a place at the base of the trunk that beckons children into a secret hideaway.
The Clark Garden was only the beginning. As plantings increased around the agricultural buildings, a Magnolia Society test garden was established south of Townsend Hall, and native plants were installed north of Worrilow Hall. With the addition in 1991 of the Herbaceous Garden, the College recognized a need to christen the complex as a whole. In 1992, the seven gardens became the University of Delaware Botanic Gardens.
"The UDBG serves multiple roles," John Frett, professor of ornamental horticulture and coordinator of the gardens, says. "The first purpose is educational. In the courses I teach, students can't learn without seeing the plants, and the 10 acres that comprise the UDBG are our laboratory."
The gardens are used by the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences as living reference sources for botany and other plant classes, in plant production and garden management courses and in landscape design instruction. In other departments in the College, bioresources engineering students use the botanic gardens for surveying, and entomology classes use them for collecting insect samples.
The UDBG's purpose goes beyond the boundaries of the University. Delaware's horticultural industry also benefits from the gardens. Cuttings from uncommon tree and shrub cultivars are shared with researchers and commercial propagators with the goal of expanding the diversity of plants in this region.
"The UDBG serves a public education purpose as well," Susan Barton, horticulture specialist for UD Cooperative Extension, says. "Not only do the gardens show the community what plants are well-adapted to the Delaware landscape, they also serve as a showcase for new cultivars. Commercial landscape designers can bring their clients here to see mature specimens in an actual landscape. In addition, our Extension Master Gardener volunteers train here and use the gardens for public workshops."
"The garden is also a museum, a living collection that is constantly evolving," Frett says.
Every specimen in the gardens is labeled with signs noting both the botanical and common names. The labels also indicate whether a specimen is native or non-native as well as the commercial source of the plant material. This system, Frett says, helps members of the gardening public decide on plants to use in their own landscape designs.
--Susan Morse Baldwin, AS '95M