Phase 2 of the WSU Horticulture and Landscape Architecture Display Garden is on track to be completed by June 5 – including an interactive “human-powered” sundial made of colored stones in the courtyard.
The multi-phase project located just east of the Lighty Building is directed by Phil Waite, associate professor in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. Since spring of 2008, Waite has integrated the project into his classes – allowing students to design the layout, plant vegetation and build structures for the display garden.
Caroline Pearson-Mims, garden manager for the display gardens, said the students came up with the idea and design for the sundial.
“If you stand with your toes at the top of the (current) month of the year, your shadow should show the approximate time,” she said. “I also just realized the irony of the plants I’ve been putting in there – that’s thyme planted around it,” she laughed.
The display gardens incorporate structural components of the old greenhouses that previously occupied the site. Pearson-Mims said they are trying to recycle as much material as possible – for example, the students broke up concrete walkways to make the garden walls.
“We want this to be a place people will enjoy and use,” she said. “It’s also a good way to showcase both sides of our department – it’s a good blend of both.”
