The Carleton Landscape
Harrison shares a little bit about his favorite plants that he commonly finds on campus
Harrison shares a little bit about his favorite plants that he commonly finds on campus
A college Campus is often characterized by sprawling lawns with a few old and tall trees that offer students shade while they sit around and study or toss a frisbee and play Spikeball (we’ve all seen movies). Carleton certainly fits this stereotype with our massive Bald Spot, a campus quad spanning the size of an entire city block. While the lawn is certainly nice, a large expanse of shortly cut Kentucky Bluegrass can be a bit dull. Fortunately, the vegetation and landscaping around campus offer a much more appealing and (mostly) native scenery. Here are some of my favorite plants that you will find around campus! You don’t even need to walk out to the Arb to find them.
What’s Bloomin’
As Carleton continues to renovate buildings and update facilities, there has been an increasing emphasis on planting native flowers and grasses. Throughout the spring, summer, and early fall these native prairie perennials speckle Carleton’s landscape with color and plenty of room for pollinators. Check out the pictures of these cone flowers below!
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It’s also not too difficult to find a variety of species packed more closely together. In the picture below, a patch of grass right next to Boliou Hall, I can pick out at least five species, but there are probably more. The purple flowers, Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), are native to much of North America and you can find them all over campus. Mixed in with the patch of Wild bergamot is some Frost aster (Symphyotrichum pilosum) that won’t bloom until this fall. The orange lilies, commonly known as Tiger Lily (Lilium lancifolium) are unfortunately invasive, but the Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) and False sunflowers (Heliopsis helianthoides) seem to be thriving.
A Broader View
If stopping to inspect the plants doesn’t excite you as much as it excites me, no worries! There is still much to enjoy about the landscape, even if you’re just walking by on the way to class or the Rec Center. Take a look!
My Favorite: The Trees
This blog would not be complete without a brief mention of the trees. Here is a picture of my favorite tree on campus, a massive Bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) standing in front of Goodsell Observatory and Olin Hall, estimated to be older than Carleton. Throughout the entire year, this tree and the many other giants like it spread their mighty limbs over thousands of square feet of campus land and have become an iconic part of the landscape, almost like a part of our skyline.
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The list of impressive flora goes on and on. What’s most impressive, however, are the colors in the fall. I don’t have any pictures to share, so you’ll just have to take my word for it or come for a visit and see it yourself! 😉
Harrison (he/him/his) stays busy at Carleton! He is a captain of the club water polo team, plays both IM basketball and broomball, and participates in activities hosted by the German and physics departments. He loves the atmosphere of Carleton in that its students are focused on academics but they don’t let it get in the way of fun.