Class project converts 'barren triangle' into the Centennial garden

Landscape architecture students in the class Landscape Architecture/Horticulture 491, from left, Shelley Rank '06, Daniel Evans '06 and Anya Vykopal '06 work with Professor Peter Trowbridge, right, putting in the Students Centennial Garden, April 27, behind Warren Hall and Mann Library. Frank DiMeo /University Photography

By Jim Morris-Knower

You've probably walked right by the small patch of ground behind Warren Hall and Mann Library and not even noticed it. "I used to call it the barren triangle," said Mann Library Director Janet McCue, "since nothing grew there and no one stopped by there." Plenty of people will be stopping by on May 12, however, when this formerly lifeless wedge of land is dedicated as the Students' Centennial Garden.

The transformation of this space is a testament to the hard work of McCue and many others. Shortly after the Mann Library addition opened four years ago, McCue asked Professors Nina Bassuk and Peter Trowbridge if the students in their joint horticulture/landscape architecture class could do some sort of extreme makeover on the space. They were interested, but a site analysis revealed that the spot would first need thousands of dollars of soil and drainage improvements.

So the dream was put on hold until last spring, when the library director was talking with College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) graduate and library friend John Dyson '65. Dyson, a Cornell emeritus trustee, had come to Ithaca to see about upgrades he was hoping to make to the library's arcade, which he had dedicated to his grandfather Lewis McGregor, and he and McCue started talking about the nearby barren triangle. Dyson suggested making its renovation part of the arcade upgrade, which would be fitting as it was his grandfather who taught him to garden. "I was about 7 when he decided that I should grow tomatoes," Dyson recalled with a smile. "The plants thrived and I sold them for 50 cents a dozen, even though we could only find good sun by digging up the front yard in Bronxville."

At this same time, McCue happened to be working on the committee planning the 2004 CALS Centennial. When she mentioned the garden idea to CALS Dean Susan Henry and the committee, they decided to dedicate it to the generations of CALS students who had contributed so much to the college.

And what could be more fitting than having the latest generation of those students create that spot? With funding for site improvements now secure, Bassuk and Trowbridge eagerly made the garden their Designing the Urban Eden class's 2003-04 project. Last fall and winter, students in the class did site assessment, plant selection and design, and this spring they are installing composted soil, gravel and shade-loving plants. "There were so many problems at the Centennial garden site that it made a good learning experience for the class," Bassuk said, noting the poor drainage, the almost complete lack of sunshine and the fact that the soil had been virtually destroyed during the building of the Mann addition. "It's a great example of the typical urban site our students will be facing when they leave Cornell."

Simultaneously, sculptor Rebecca Thompson, MFA '03, was busy creating trellis-like sculptures and benches for the garden. At the center of her design were two large concrete and iron screens incorporating salvaged pieces of old Cornell buildings. These artifacts, she later discovered, just happened to be bits of old Roberts Hall. How fitting, and how serendipitous, that the centerpiece of a garden commemorating 100 years of the College of Agriculture would contain parts of the Ag Quad's original building, including its cornerstone. "I see it as a gift for everyone involved." said Thompson. "The college is getting back a part of its history, with the old returning in a new way."

The new garden will be dedicated by Henry at noon on May 12, as part of the college's centennial celebration. The centennial parade begins at 2:30 p.m., followed by an ice cream social (Read the story).