The Rhododendron Garden
Located directly north of University Health Services, the Rhododendron Garden is one of the most serene landscapes on campus. Tucked away from much of today's foot traffic, the garden was once one of the main hubs of the campus landscape. One hundred years ago, commencement used to take place here along with many other school sponsored social engagements. See historic photographs of this space during that era. It is the oldest intentionally designed garden on campus, originally meant to showcase ornamental cultivars of various landscape plants. Today, the Rhododendron have grown to the full extent of their height and width. The hillside at the east edge of the garden has transformed into a mid successional forest. Native and non-native species have seeded into the understory such as Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) and European privet (Ligustrum vulgare). In the overstory, several champion and legacy trees call this garden their home. The state champion Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi), Japanese umbrella pines (Sciadopitys verticillata), and sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) are just a few of the notable trees to be found in this garden.
Olver Design Building Rooftop Garden
Completed in 2017, the Rooftop Garden of the Olver Design Building serves as an outdoor classroom as well as a space for rest and relaxation for the campus community. This rooftop garden is an intensive green roof system, which means it has a deep substrate profile that can support a variety of plant life including trees and shrubs. Planted at the edges and corners of the garden, where deeper soil substrates exist, are American hazelnuts (Corylus americana), eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis), and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) among other tree species. In the center of the garden, bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) and lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) coexist with a variety of native herbaceous plants. The plant selection for this garden was informed by the plant communities that thrive in high elevation ecosystems in the New England region. The garden does double duty as both a beautiful space, and a methodically designed storm water infiltration system. During rain events, storm water is slowed down and soaked up by the rooftop vegetation. The garden also serves as a reminder of how green spaces in urban areas can redefine and enhance user experience.
Permaculture Gardens
Implemented in 2010, the Franklin Permaculture Garden, pictured here, is the largest of the UMass Permaculture Initiative's gardens on campus. It serves as the main demonstration garden for exhibiting 'human-scale ecological solutions'. Previously, this site was a mowed lawn and grass monoculture.
Today, the organic fruit and vegetables grown in this garden feed the campus community through an on-campus famers market and partnership with the campus dining commons. This garden contains a number of fruit trees such as Nikita's Gift Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana x kaki) and Asian Pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) as well as a few larger shade trees in the form of little leaf lindens (Tilia cordata). There are permaculture gardens at several other sites on campus including the Berkshire Permaculture garden in Southwest, the recent addition to the Franklin garden on the east side of Franklin Commons, and the Hillside Permaculture Garden at the Chancellor's house. In 2012, the UMass Permaculture Initiative received the "Campus Champions of Change Challenge" award from the White House, which celebrated the Franklin and Berkshire garden spaces and the ethics that they represent.
Pollinator Gardens
All across campus there are many instances of pollinator habitat, but several spaces have been specifically built for this purpose. One of these gardens is the Governor's Drive Songbird Garden pictured here. Implemented in 2016, this pollinator garden was a collaborative effort between students in the Stockbridge School of Agriculture and campus landscape management staff. Inspired by President Obama's initiative to increase pollinator habitat across the country, this garden is registered with the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge. Native plants line an ADA accessible path that leads to secluded seating areas. For those who are looking to have a quiet moment to themselves, the birds, and the bees, this bucolic garden provides a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of the central campus. There is another large pollinator garden at the Agricultural Learning Center located at 911 N. Pleasant St., which was implemented in 2014 with support from Mass. State Grange.