Maine Perspective Front Page
Landscape Horticulture Club Cultivates Garden Show Fans
UMaine's Landscape Horticulture Club earned the 1999 Gwethalyn M. Phillips Landscapers' Award at this year's Bangor Garden Show. The prestigious award is based on a vote by the participating landscape professionals.
The students also were awarded a certificate of achievement from the Maine Landscape and Nursery Association for excellent use of foliage, variation of color and texture, and overall quality.
The student's display caught the attention of their landscape horticulture peers - and the public - at the show for several reasons. Out-of-the-ordinary plant materials hardy enough to be grown in Maine yet easy to propagate were used, including giant zinnias and black-eyed susan vines. A wide brick walkway led to a raised patio with a bench. The display was designed to be interactive, with accessibility into the garden even for visitors with disabilities.
"We knew a lot of persons with disabilities come to the Garden Show and we wanted them to be able to come up into the display and get a taste of what it was like," says Brent Boynton, a senior from Camden, one of the four landscape horticulture majors spearheading the design and creation of the display.
Much of the plant material was donated by alumni of the Landscape Horticulture Program, including Scott Longfellow of Manchester and Bob Bangs of Bangor. UMaine alumnus Michael Zuck of Bangor donated plants and area businesses contributed hardscape.
Planning for the display began last fall. In the week leading up to the Garden Show, April 9-11 at the Bangor Civic Center and Auditorium, the students logged more than 300 hours installing their display. The four leaders - Boynton; senior Mark Smith of Falmouth, Mass.; junior Stacy Ruchala of Rutland, Mass.; and senior Danielle Ferris of Newaygo, Michigan - were assisted by students in a landscape construction class.
The most rewarding aspects of the experience were in working closely together, and in hearing the comments from Garden Show participants and visitors, the students agree.
"The students applied what they've learned in courses on construction and plant materials," says Bill Mitchell, associate professor of landscape architecture and the club's advisor. "Then they got hands-on experience in everything from how and when to plant to personnel and management skills. It is the closest real-life situation students can get without going out and working full time."