Community guides arboretum plan

When he took the reins as the JC Raulston arboretum's third permanent director in December 2005, Denny Werner asked himself, "Where do I start?"

He found his muse where most gardeners do -- on a garden path.

During a stroll through the arboretum, Werner realized what an inspirational and soothing experience he was enjoying. He began to wonder how to make it even more special. The "Boards" are the result of Werner's light bulb moment.

The arboretum, part of the Department of Horticultural Science at N.C. State University, has been primarily a working and teaching garden that focuses on the evaluation, selection and display of plant material gathered from around the world. It has evolved over the years into a collection of public gardens where anyone can enjoy the diversity of the plant world.

Werner's idea for the arboretum's next step would involve the community. Called the Grass Roots Master Plan, the project sought input, via questionnaire, from those who visited or did not visit the gardens.

What were the most -- and least -- favorite areas of the arboretum? How might the facility better serve the local community over time? About 1,000 comments were collected throughout the summer.

Since September, volunteer project coordinators Suzanne Edney and Harriet Bellerjeau have been meeting with a design team made up of landscape architects Jeff Evans, Robert L. Mackintosh and Matt Roberts, and program developer and public relations coordinator Beth Jimenez (all volunteers as well) to come up with a new master plan.

Essentially, the comments serve as a thousand-member board of directors on whose opinions the designers will base their recommendations for the new plan. The group calls "the Boards" its system of checks and balances.

The comments are posted on display boards in the halls of the Ruby C. McSwain Education Center. As the designers work to put a plan on a paper, they refer to the comment boards often to ensure that public opinion is being considered.

I've sat in on two of the group's meetings. Talk primarily focused on pathway development and placement of new structures and focal points. Suggestions flew around the work table. Noticing how quickly I was filling my notebook, Bellerjeau remarked, "It's a wonderful undertaking, but huge."

A rose garden free of pesticide sprays, a WaterWise demo garden to illustrate proper use of mulches, a universally accessible pathway system and ways to sustain a new design in the long term were some of the topics covered in the meetings. Evans says many of the ideas the design team came up with are reinforced by comments from the Boards.

Negative comments on the boards have helped pinpoint problem areas. For example, a large percentage of people cited concerns about the gardens' entrance -- they don't like it. The current network of narrow and sometimes waterlogged grassy pathways at times make it impossible to use strollers or wheelchairs.

Bellerjeau was surprised by the number of people who would like more hands-on activities.

And a simple statement from one mother, who said the JCRA is a "safe place" to take her children for afternoon outings, has profoundly influenced the designers to incorporate more garden areas that will inspire our next generation of gardeners.

With about six weeks left to prepare their preliminary master plan for presentations to the various advisory boards for final approval, the designers still have a monumental task ahead of them.

Stay tuned to see what the plan looks like for a more user-friendly garden, where visitors of every age, interest level and ability can discover soothing and inspirational experiences. Stay tuned.