While the college often tops the rankings when it comes to academics and great financial aid, those aren’t the only two qualities that draw attention to the college. When people walk into the campus, these words may come up into their minds: vibrant arboretum, modern and classic, magnificent and expansive. Swarthmore College, again, was recently acknowledged as one of the most beautiful campuses in the country by Forbes Magazine. The Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College, a garden encompassing approximately 330 acres of the campus, brings various trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals and bulbs to the campus and makes it an ideal place for meditating and relaxing.
According to Julie Jenny, the Educational Programs Coordinator of the Scott Arboretum, this Arboretum, formed in 1929, is a memorial to Arthur Hoyt Scott, a Swarthmore college alumnus. The idea of having an arboretum originated when Scott didn’t have the chance to appreciate some kinds of plants around Swarthmore during Scott’s days, like tree peonies and irises. He could only go to Connecticut to see them. Therefore, he hoped to have a place in the area around Swarthmore for people to enjoy the beauty of and learn about a variety of plants. Sticking to this purpose, the arboretum devotes itself to educating the public about horticulture and botany as well as providing gardeners information about the plants suitable for home gardens in eastern Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley.
Last Saturday afternoon, the Scott Arboretum celebrated its Fall Festival in the Lang Concert Hall. This annual celebration is usually held in October. During every festival, fascinating speeches about various gardens’ designs and styles are given to the public.
This year, the keynote speaker was Fergus Garrett, the head gardener and CEO at Great Dixter, one of the most renowned gardens in East Sussex, Britain. He gave a speech on the past, present and future of Great Dixter and introduced the contribution of Christopher Lloyd, a great garden writer who made Great Dixter famous.
Mr. Garret shared with audiences a number of meaningful pictures and the stories behind each picture, from the black-and-white family photo of Lloyd to the colorful images of modern gardening projects. He indicated a valuable attitude toward gardening by introducing the garden in this intimate story-telling way. As Garrett stated at the end of his speech, gardening is a way to show the spirit of a place and to understand a sense of place. It connects people and provides people chances to respect the history of places.
This inspiring speech contributed to the success of the Fall Festival this time for the Scott Arboretum. In addition to inviting these experienced speakers, the Arboretum is constantly making every effort to bring their members more perspectives about gardening. Julie Vrooman, a resident of Swarthmore, has volunteered at the Arboretum for sixteen years.
“I work every week on Thursday morning. I am one of the people who gardens outside. You may see us in the bush pulling out leaves.” she said. Her volunteer experience helps her to develop her interest in gardening. She mentioned, “As an arboretum volunteer, you can go through a whole training class where you will learn the appropriate gardening techniques and the history of the arboretum. The people I am working with are also very knowledgeable. And just to work with plants helps me to learn more about them.”
Ruth Gundlach, who is also fond of gardening and now beginning to plant things for birds, said “I have been a member for two years. There are a lot of lectures that are really informative and there are many chances to see the beautiful gardens around the world. I have never been to Great Dixter before so this is a nice experience for me,” said Ruth Gundlach, who is also fond of gardening and now beginning to plant things for birds. Last Sunday, she participated in a special peony event organized by the Scott Arboretum. Participants learned about peony and joined in a bargain peony sale.
The Arboretum welcomes people of all age levels, including students. Students can join in the Scott Arboretum membership by paying ten dollars per year. The membership organization, The Associates of the Scott Arboretum, is formed to provide supports to reach the goals of the Arboretum. The mission includes to expand educational programs and horticultural activities. There are a lot of activities organized for the members. For instance, the members can receive the Arboretum’s quarterly newsletter, Hybrid, to learn about the gardening and plants. They are also able to go to Garden Day for free, which is an annual tour of private gardens.
According to Ms. Jenny, students’ responsibilities are just to learn to appreciate this place and to be aware that there is a special office on Swarthmore campus and a group of people that are working to keep the college beautiful.
“Young people [are] the future for gardening,” Garrett said. “We need these sensitive people to manage these places properly, to be creative and to protect the places.”
