More than 12-and-a-half acres of gardens on campus provide MSU students and the community with a place to learn and enjoy plants.
The Horticultural Demonstration Gardens and the W.J. Beal Botanical Garden serve a variety of purposes at MSU.
“The gardens are used with horticulture classes and plant identification classes,” said Norm Lownds, horticulture professor and demonstration gardens director. “They are also open to the general public so everyone can learn and visit them.”
The Perennial, Annual Trial, Foyer, Rose, 4-H Children’s and Idea gardens make up the demonstration gardens. The gardens, near the Plant and Soil Sciences Building, were constructed in 1986, except for the 4-H Children’s Garden, which was added later.
Doug Badgero, manager of the greenhouses and demonstration gardens, said about 3,000 people went on an official garden tour in 2001, but the gardens have a total of about 250,000 visitors each year.
“The gardens are open to the general public, and we have a lot of people come through on unorganized rather than organized scheduled tours,” he said.
Badgero said students also utilize the gardens, with about six classes using the demonstration gardens each semester and 250 horticulture students using the surrounding greenhouses.
Natisha Adams, a criminal justice and social work senior, visited the demonstration gardens as part of her Integrated Studies Biological 202 class.
“I found the gardens really helpful,” she said. “It was useful to see the plants, read their labels and put a name with a visual image of the plant.
“I learned more from seeing the actual plant than just reading about it in a book.”
Elaine Chittenden, collections manager for W.J. Beal Botanical Garden, said the botanical garden is used as a “learning center.”
“Classes in dozens of different disciplines come to the garden to learn,” she said. “We also hold training sessions for volunteers.”
Chittenden said students can become volunteers in the garden as Beal Ambassadors, laborers or tour guides.
Frank Telewski, an associate professor and curator of the Beal garden, said that besides working in the garden, students enjoy visiting the garden to look at the plants, read the labels and learn more about each plant. He also said people come to the garden to enjoy the “beauty and peaceful surroundings.”
The garden, between the Main Library and IM Sports-Circle, is the oldest continually maintained botanical garden in the United States.
The garden was established in 1873 by MSU Professor William James Beal and was originally called the Botanical or Wild Garden. It was named after Beal following his death in 1922.
The gardens are privately funded and are open 12 months a year. Some stair entrances to the botanical garden are closed in the winter, while the demonstration gardens have limited access and the 4-H Children’s Garden is closed from Nov. 1 to March 31.
Lownds said he encourages students to visit and become active in the gardens anytime of the year.
“Students should spend some time at the gardens during their time here,” he said. “I’ve talked to alumni, and many times they say that the gardens are one of the places they miss the most.”
