Gardens and Landscapes

Located directly north of University Health Services, the Rhododendron Garden is one of the most serene landscapes on campus.

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.

Implemented in 2010, the Franklin Permaculture Garden, pictured here, is the largest of the UMass Permaculture Initiative's gardens on campus

Across campus there are many pollinator habitats. Several spaces have been specifically built for this purpose. One of these gardens is the Governor's Drive Songbird Garden.

The Oak Collection is clustered along Constantine Way, from Munson Hall to DuBois Library. Several are over 100 years old - ancient state champions, legacy trees, and contenders for national champion status.

The utility arboretum is a collection of sixty trees and shrubs that are appropriate for planting under powerlines. The utility arboretum demonstrates how trees and power lines can coexist.

Durfee Conservatory offers an immersive tropical experience for students, campus visitors, and community members who choose to visit this historic glass house.

The nut tree collection spreads across campus. The heart-center of nut trees is at the top of Orchard Hill. This collection showcases and introduces campus visitors to a variety of nut bearing trees like the northern pecans.

Attached to the south side of Morrill Science Center, the Ray Ethan Torrey Botanical Greenhouse is a teaching and research spaces that comprise over 6,626 square feet under glass and roughly 1,400 square feet of growth chambers and storage.

In the northeast corner of campus lies about 55 acres of mid-succession hardwood forest, meadow, and recreational open space known as Orchard Hill. It's loved by campus and community members for its walking paths, disc golf course, and sweeping views of Mt. Toby to the north.

The UMass Dept. of Environmental Conservation are stewards of five forests in the greater Western Massachusetts region: The Adams Brook Forest, Cadwell Memorial Forest, Knight-Sabin Forest, Mt. Toby Forest, and Savage Hill Forest. They server as living environments for students, faculty, and the community to study forest health and management.

Planted along Campus Center Way and Ellis Way is our collection of cultivar Elms resistant to Dutch Elm Disease. The trees lining Ellis Way are Ulmus Americana 'Valley Forge', one of the most promising cultivars available.

Prexy's Ridge is the only old growth forest located on a university campus in the state of Massachusetts. This swathe of forest is a mix of deciduous trees and conifers that comprises 24-acres.