Eden in Idaho
By Camille Jones
Peaceful greenery
I often walk under tall trees on gravel paths, stand over rushing streams on wood or stone bridges, and count the lilies skimming the top of quiet pools. Most BYU-Idaho students know the gardens; they’ve walked through them on the way to classes, seeing mostly the main walkway stretching from the Hinckley building to the Benson parking lot. Even under snow the gardens manage to be a beautiful place on campus. But there’s much more to the gardens than the narrow strip seen from the sidewalk. From the formal garden in the center, outwards through the willows to the Bowl, around the top to Lily Pond and Lion’s Head Fountain, through the Meadow and past Swan Pond to the Kissing Pond the gardens are carefully cared for by a special crew made mostly of horticulture students. Each cranny of the garden has a story though they are best known to the horticulture students who work in the gardens. Perhaps the best example of the unknown stories buried in the Gardens is The Kissing Pond. After this summer’s construction, it has a stream that runs from above the path, under a stone slab bridge into the pond itself. It is still called The Kissing Pond even through the fence that made it a secluded corner was torn down several years ago.
However, my favorite place to go is not actually in the gardens. At this late time of year, the greenhouses are filled with Christmas poinsettias, garden shop plants sold every Friday in the Manwaring Center, and one greenhouse is lined with tall tomato plants. The last double door on the right opens to a warm-in-winter, cool-in-summer room. My favorite place is filled with waterfalls, banana trees, and white bell-shaped flowers. Large fan leaves and purple flowers reach high above my head. And I never need to worry about bugs. A small wire patio table and matching chairs makes it a perfect study spot. Few students outside the horticulture department ever step inside the greenhouses behind the Benson building, keeping it a quiet and peaceful place. I finish homework to the splash of waterfalls while sitting under broadleaf trees and oversized ferns. It is the place to escape from the bustle while still being on campus, nearby for when I need to return to the stress of classes. But, it is also near enough to retreat to again and again.
However, my favorite place to go is not actually in the gardens. At this late time of year, the greenhouses are filled with Christmas poinsettias, garden shop plants sold every Friday in the Manwaring Center, and one greenhouse is lined with tall tomato plants. The last double door on the right opens to a warm-in-winter, cool-in-summer room. My favorite place is filled with waterfalls, banana trees, and white bell-shaped flowers. Large fan leaves and purple flowers reach high above my head. And I never need to worry about bugs. A small wire patio table and matching chairs makes it a perfect study spot. Few students outside the horticulture department ever step inside the greenhouses behind the Benson building, keeping it a quiet and peaceful place. I finish homework to the splash of waterfalls while sitting under broadleaf trees and oversized ferns. It is the place to escape from the bustle while still being on campus, nearby for when I need to return to the stress of classes. But, it is also near enough to retreat to again and again.
