"Groundbreaking Botany"

Botany 2003 Butterfly garden project

By Christina Ryan

Judson College,
Marion, Alabama

Spring 2003


Imagine a small, grassy plot of land, an island of life in a concrete sea. Would it be called boring, or full of exciting potential? Now imagine that plot is on Judson's campus. It would be called the newly adopted project of Dr. Wilson's botany class. The purpose of their project is to make a small piece of Judson friendlier to the human eye, as well as to butterflies, and to hopefully learn something along the way. After obtaining permission from Dr. Tew and Mr. Clements, the class discussed how to create a better image for the fifteen-square-feet plot on the east entrance of the Lowder science building.

Future butterfly garden Botany students prepare garden soil

The students donned their best work clothes and arrived on the scene the afternoon of February 12, 2003, ready to get their hands dirty. With pick, hoe, and shovel in hand, they eyed the bare, mundane square of grass. Soon, they were ripping it up by its roots! Dee Turney observed, "When operating a pickaxe, it is wise for one to wear shoes other than flip-flops."

Pam inspects the project Topsoil is added to garden

Once the grass was clear, Dr. Wilson backed a truckload of sandy laom dirt from Blackburn's Bottom in East Perry County up to the newly exposed earth, and the students began to unload and spread it over the little plot.

Hardwood mulch is added to garden

"It is exciting to have a project that is both fun and educational. We are learning applied botany, biology, and many principles of landscaping. It is rewarding as a teacher to see so much enthusiasm from students," reported Dr. Wilson.

Dr. Wilson locates landscape boulders for garden Alvin and Lee prepare to load stones

March 4, Dr. Wilson led an expedition in the late afternoon mist to collect the decorative landscaping stones for the plot with recruited strong-arms, Ricky Clements and several men on the Judson maintenance crew.

Stones from north Perry County headed for garden

Mr. Clements drove his 4-wheeler with a small trailer attached to its bumper up the treacherous, eroded hillside of northeast Perry County to the location of the best landscaping stones, where they were loaded onto the trailer by Lee Andrew Mims, Leroy Miree, Alvin (Big D) Cannon, and James Huey.

The largest stone weighed an estimated 600 pounds. It was a test of strength and determination to get it on the trailer. The landscaping stones served as a bonus lesson in geology for our botany class. Dr. Wilson informed us that the stones were created 350,000 years ago by the last Pleistocene period, which resulted in ridge uplift and the exposure of layers of ancient sandstone ledges. The rich earth-toned ribbons of color in the stones are due to their impregnation with dark minerals carried by numerous glacial rivers at the end of several ice ages. Dr. Doug Jones, Geology Department Head, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, explained the details of our stones' history in a conversation with Dr. Wilson.

Workers unload stones

With the help of the Judson maintenance grew, the stones were arranged and placed in the garden the next morning.

Students plant the coral bark maple

That afternoon, the botany students surveyed the layout and proceeded to install the project's centerpiece, a Japanese coral bark maple. It is a relatively small tree that expresses itself in unique ways during different seasons. At the time of planting, it had no leaves, but the bareness of the branches emphasized the beautiful florescent pink bark, reminiscent of coral. In the spring the bark will fade, and the tree's green leaves will display "painted" red margins. These will last through the summer and turn golden in the fall.

Watering the coral bark maple

While planting, the botany students learned valuable applied botany lessons, such as what ratio the planting hole dimensions should be and the top reason for watering a tree immediately after planting it (even in the wet winter this is important to settle the dirt around the tree, so that the roots will not be exposed to air pockets). After the tree was planted, the students admired their work as they saw it begin to take shape.

Pam and Cristina plant sweet broom

Botany student, Jennifer Moore, purchased a load of hardwood mulch and brought it to the garden spot. All the students mulched the muddy plot the morning of March 7 as Dr. Wilson lectured on the top reasons for mulching. On The morning of March 10, more plants were added. "I'm getting dirt under my painted fingernails!" remarked Delisa Gillon as she planted a dwarf Juniper. Juniperus squamata is a low-growing, gray-green evergreen shrub. Sweet broom, another plant that was added, is a favorite of butterflies with its fragrant, yellow, pea shaped flowers. Dianthus (pinks) produce richly fragrant flowers in the spring or summer. We also added some purple fountain grass, which is a natural contrast to the reddish stones.

Mr. Wisenhunt critiqued the project favorably, saying, "It has a good variety of textures and a diverse color palette." He particularly liked the monolith position of one of the stones. The class anticipates adding some other butterfly-attracting plants.

Solar acorn The "kidnapped" toad  beside the Dianthus pinks

   
 
©Judson College, 2003
 
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