Originally designed as an outdoor laboratory, the Herbaceous Garden is now also a thriving public garden with an aesthetic focus and seasonal interest—an inviting space to study and relax.
History
The Herbaceous Garden was created in 1986 as an outdoor laboratory for students enrolled in the Herbaceous Plant Materials class. At its conception, plants were laid out in rows within rectangular beds maintained by an enthusiastic group of volunteers who later founded the membership group, UDBG Friends. In 1989, this group redesigned the garden into a series of curvilinear beds with mulch paths.
In the early 1990s, an undergraduate student studying landscape design redesigned the beds and paths with grass paths. In 2009, with a donation to create Crossan Circle, the paths were updated to brick pavers, making the garden accessible to all.
In 2013, three professional designers participated in a design charrette to create a more enticing entrance that would facilitate movement between the Landscape Color Trials, All-America Selections Display Garden, and the Lepidoptera Trail. The winning design created by 1980 Plant and Soil Science alumnus Shipley Allinson featured a wooden pavilion, swale, new borders, and a stone path leading to the Lepidoptera Trail.
The role of the Herbaceous Garden has evolved since its creation. In 2005, a change in the instructors of the herbaceous plant course ushered in a new wave of opportunities. With the garden no longer being the primary resource for students to study plant material, greater diversity and flexibility were introduced.
