Chadwick Arboretum

By Ana Goffe

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Chadwick Arboretum is a 62-acre arboretum on the Agriculture campus of The Ohio State University. The mission of Chadwick Arboretum and Learning Gardens is to honor their Land-Grant tradition by providing extensive and diverse plant collections for education, research, and enjoyment. Included in the 60+ acre space are three different sections, the Learning Gardens on the grounds surrounding Howlett Hall on the corner of Coffey Road and Woody Hayes Drive, the Lane Avenue Gardens east of State Route 315 on Lane Avenue between Fyffe Road and Olentangy River Road, and Arboretum North just north of Lane Avenue and west of Fred Taylor Drive.

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The Learning Gardens outside Howlett Hall provide year-round opportunities for students to gain first-hand experience in the areas of horticulture, landscape architecture, and environmental sciences. Included in the Learning Gardens is the 12,000 square foot Howlett Hall green roof which reduces utility bills, increases roof life, improves air quality, and filters storm water runoff. This is the first green roof on Ohio State’s campus and sets an example for future green roof development. The brightly colored in the Cultivar Trial Gardens which capture the attention of travelers along Woody Hayes Drive is constructed to observe the performance of plants under the environmental conditions typical of central Ohio. Many other sub-gardens find a home in the Learning Gardens, including the Steven M. Still Perennial Garden designed by Adrian Bloom and the Shade, Centennial, Rose, Bert & Josephine Kleinmaier Perennial, Wildflower, Horticulture Therapy, Earth-Kind Protocol Rose Demonstration, and Bamboo Gardens.

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The Lane Avenue Gardens is the most well-known in Chadwick Arboretum. Established in 1979, the gardens began with a number of plantings brought over from the old Horticulture Gardens behind Campbell Hall. In 1987 a master plan was designed by Steve Drown and Jim Hiss, faculty members from Landscape Architecture. A popular destination hidden within the maze of the garden is the Lois B. Small and Gladys B. Hamilton Labyrinth, modeled after the medieval 11-circuit Chartres Cathedral Labyrinth in France. Also included in the Lane Avenue Gardens is the trellis entrance, Van Wade Hosta Collection, Professor L.C. Chadwick Founder’s Rock, Columbus Landscape Association Conifer Collection, Lynn E. McCall Colorado Spruce Collection, Ecological Engineering Society Rain Garden, Phenology Research Garden featuring Annabelle the green Praying Mantis, and the Cancer Survivors’ Plaza.
Arboretum North, home to over 1,000 trees native to Ohio and a 3.5-acre lake since its redevelopment in the 1980s, provides a hidden peaceful escape from busy campus life. This green area acts as a buffer zone to blend the residential and urban community with the university. Hidden behind the Nationwide Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center is the enCORE Solar Decathlon House, a student-designed and built solar home. The design combines solar power strategies as well as rainwater collection and reuse systems to provide a sustainable residential home for a family of up to three. Also included in Arboretum North is a Willow Collection, the Donald Mayhew Memorial Grove, the Jones Memorial Grove, Prairie Plant Research Plots and Monarch Butterfly Waystation, and the Andy Geiger Aesculus (Buckeye) Collection.
Chadwick Arboretum as a whole contains one of the most varied collections of flora in the state.

http://chadwickarboretum.osu.edu/

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“Chadwick Arboretum and Learning Gardens.” Chadwick Arboretum and Learning Gardens. The Ohio State University, n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2015.

 

Images:

Green Roof Howlett Hall. Digital image. The Ohio State University. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.<https://www.sempergreen.com/uploads/nieuws/The_Ohio_University/Green-roof-Howlett-hall_Ohio-University2.jpg>.

Labyrinth Overhead Edited. Digital image. The Ohio State University. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.<http://chadwickarboretum.osu.edu/sites/chadwick/files/imce/images/Lane-Avenue/LA-Labyrinth-overhead-edited.jpg>.

Learning Gardens. Digital image. The Ohio State University. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.<http://chadwickarboretum.osu.edu/sites/chadwick/files/imce/images/Learning-Garden/LG-Trial-annuals-jm-IMG_0068.jpg>.