Arboretum Committee
Annual Report 1977-78
The academic year 1977-78 has brought with it an unusual amount of activity in the form of new and
proposed construction, landscaping, and planting. The Arboretum Committee has been involved in reviewing
plans, in making site visits, and on occasion in initiating action.
Perhaps our happiest dutyhas been the oversight of two memorial plantings. The group of evergreens on
the south side of Brooks Hall was augmented by the planting, on Founder's Day, of two White Pines (Pinus
strobus) and one Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) in memory of Dr. Walter M. Seward. These trees came from the
former Seward Forest in Brunswick County. The other memorial tree is a Blue Ash (Fraxinus quadrangulata)
planted in front of Maury Hall in honor of Mr. Weldon Cooper. The tree is the gift of the Virginia Department of
Human Resources. Other significant additions to the species represented on the Grounds are a Darlington Oak
(Quercus hemisphaerica), a resistant form of the American Elm (Ulmus americana), and some Pond Cypress
(Taxodium distichum var. nutans
Less happy have been our attempts to sustain lines of communication both within and without the
University. With the Law School and with the Medical Planning Department, the Committee has insisted on its
role of consultant on landscaping and planting. With the City, the Committee has tried to work through Mr.
Catlin in order to obtain advance notice of projects such as the recently erected bus shelters which impinged on
University plantings.
The Committee has been involved in planning or in the review of plans for a large number of University
projects such as:
1. The Lower Lawn - initiation of a design project to mitigate the impact of overuse.
2. University Hall Parking Lot - review of plans for planting two rows of trees in the lot. Suggested
Willow Oak (Quercus phellos) or Sawtoothed Oak (Quercus acutissima) for one row and Zelkova serrata for the
other. This project is now complete.
3. 12th StreetParking Lot - review of plans and site visit to evaluate existing trees. Recommended
retention of those trees that could be saved and further planting on the periphery.
4. The Clemons Library - review of plans and site visit. Recommended In, strongest terms the retention of
the large Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) at street level, and in addition one White Pine (Pinus strobus) and
a willow (Salix nigra) on the west, and two Western Cedars (Juniperus scopulorum), the Arbor Vita (Thuja
occidentalis) and the Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) on the south.
5. The Peabody-Newcomb Addition - review of plans and site visit. Recommended precautions be taken to
protect plantings in the forecourt.
6. McCormick Road Dormitory Drainage Plan - review of plans. Approved.
7. Graduate School of Business Administration: Class Gift Plantings review of plans. Recommended
alternative designs in accordance with ideas from the Planning Department. Referred to Gift Committee.
8. Medica1 Center Parking Garage - review of plans and site visit.
Recommended that some trees be saved if possible, and if not that new
plantings be undertaken.
9.. Parking Lot for Continuing Education - review of plans for extension of the lot and for additional
planting. Approved the extension and recommended some alternative planting materials.
Finally, the Committee carried out its annual inspection of the Blandy Farm and Orland E. White
Arboretum on April 19th. The establishment was found to be in good order. Mr. Evert has rented most of the
agricultural land, retaining 80 acres for a joint program in agriculture with Lord Fairfax Community College. The
Arboretum has received a wide range of groups for various purposes from weddings to painting classes. Some
recent accomplishments include sanding of floors in the main building furniture refinishing, and the removal of
the old "sheep shed" with an eye to the future rebuilding of a more useful structure on that site.
The Committee intends to maintain a skeleton existence over the summer, since many planning projects go
forward rapidly during that time. If possible the committee will meet once or twice before the next academic
year.
Respectfully submitted,
J.J. Murray, Jr.
For The Committee
