Internship Program Reports
Date of this Version
2018
Abstract
The Garden Railway is one of the most highly visited areas of the Morris Arboretum, so it is important for it to be well kept. Surrounding areas are just as important because of the increased foot traffic to the adjacent Garden Railway. The focus of this project, the ‘Foyer’, is one of those important surrounding areas. It encompasses the area just outside of the entrance path to the Railway. The ‘Foyer’ needed a new design that would solve some of the challenges presented by the traffic and previous bed layout. One of the beds in the area was half empty because a large white oak was removed in 2016, and the remaining plants were affected by the changed conditions. The high traffic flow of visitors and staff vehicles through this area tends to cause a bottleneck because there is limited space to step off the path. In answer to these problems, some design goals were established. One of the goals was to suggest a planting scheme that would thrive in the environment there and also create a more cohesive flow between the surrounding garden areas. The other goals for the planting scheme were to have four seasons of interest and be relatively low maintenance for the three section leaders involved. Finally, the new design needed to simplify the bed lines and shrink the old oak bed area to create more grass space for visitors or strollers to move off the loop path.
Disciplines
Horticulture
Date Posted: 08 October 2018
Comments
An independent study project report by The Alice and J. Liddon Pennock, Jr. Endowed Horticulture Intern (2017-2018)