F 



Gardening at an Institution 



Jennifer Gould 



9 



or the past ten years I have 

 been employed by Phillips 

 Exeter Academy which is a 

 private school for students in 

 grades 9 through 12. My job has 

 been to design flower gardens, and 

 toplantandmaintainsixteen major 

 garden areas on campus. Through 

 these experiences I have learned 

 that while all gardening is chal- 

 lenging, gardening at an academic 

 institution has its own advantages 

 anddisadvantages. 



While the general landscaping on 

 campus must have a continuity of 

 plant material, fences, signs, and 

 walkways, flower gardens are not 

 restricted by the same guidelines. 

 Academic, administrative and resi- 

 dential buildings divide the cam- 

 pus into several sections. The parti- 

 tioning permits diversity of garden 

 themes and color schemes. Each 

 garden has a purpose and a reason 

 for being located where it is. 



Inevitably 

 an errant ball or frisbee 



lands in a garden 



with a student running 



behind it 



Many garden locations were se- 

 lected because of their high visibil- 

 ity. For example, the Admissions 

 Office, the Alumni/ae Office, dining 

 halls, and the main administration 

 building are among the busiest 

 buildings on campus and all are 

 adorned with flower gardens. Out- 

 side the Principal's Office there is a 

 large garden which supplies cut 

 flowers for the offices all summer as 

 well as provides a colorful place for 

 visitors who have a few extra min- 

 utes to stroll. 



Some gardens exist because of spe- 

 cial events on campus. At Exeter, 

 graduation exercises are held in 

 early June in frontof the main aca- 

 demic building. The gardens there 

 contain more flowering shrubs and 

 perennials intended to bloom in late 

 spring and early summer. Annuals 

 fill in the color for the rest of the 

 summer. 



The problems with gardening at 

 an institution occur with the in- 

 creased numbers of people , ani mals 

 and vehicles on campus. Activity is 

 constant and, unfortunately, not all 

 people are sensitive to their envi- 

 ronment. 



The first challenge was the "spon- 

 taneous picker". This person appre- 

 ciates flowers and picks a few to 

 gi ve to a friend or to keep. Too many 

 "spontaneous pickers" can strip a 

 garden of its color, not to mention 

 the possible damage to other plants 

 that can occur in the process. This 

 problem is impossible to eliminate 

 but has been controlled by sending 

 memos each spring to all faculty, 

 staff and students asking for their 

 cooperation with the gardens by 

 not picking the flowers. They do 

 have areas on campus where they 

 can maintain their own gardens. If 

 someone needs cut flowers for a 

 special occasion, I do the cutting. 

 This way I can cut from the gardens 

 that have the heaviest bloom and 

 reduce the numbers of trampled 

 plants. 



Another problem occurs when stu- 

 dents relax from academic sched- 

 ules by playing casual games of la- 

 crosse, touch-football or frisbee. In- 

 evitably an errant ball or frisbee 

 lands in a garden with a student 

 running behind it. Though there is 

 no way to avoid this situation, by 

 watching where the students play 

 before selecting a garden site, one 

 canlocate agarden farenough away 



from the activity to minimize the 

 damage. 



The last problem I will mention is 

 the damage to lawns and gardens 

 by maintenance and delivery ve- 

 hiclesdrivingonnarrowroads. The 

 roads were meant for walkers, and 

 vehicles have difficulty making the 

 sharp turns. Too often they leave 

 tire tracks in the gardens. I have 

 solved this problem by "planting" 

 granite posts and rocks in strategic 

 locations in the gardens. They add 

 interest to the gardens and are very 

 effective in eliminating tire tracks! 



By careful observation 

 before selecting 

 gardening sites on a 

 campus, by providing a 

 source for replacement 

 plants, and by providing 



as much natural 



protection for the garden 



as one can, it is possible 



to maintain attractive 



gardens in a public area. 



By careful observation before se- 

 lecting garden sites on a campus, by 

 providing a source for replacement 

 plants, and by providing as much 

 natural protection for the garden 

 as one can, it is possible to main- 

 tain attractive gardens in a public 

 area. Working with "Mother Na- 

 ture" always has been unpredict- 

 able. Dealingwiththehuman being 

 has been the ultimate challenge. ^ 



Jen niferis the greenhouse manager 

 and campus gardener at Phillips 

 ExeterAca demy. 



2 THK Pi. ANTSMAN 



