Fall 2001

Volume 4 Number 1
A publication of Macon State College

	Renowned Horticulturist Dr. Michael A. Dirr Shares Spiritual Significance of Gardens
In Praise of Gardens

By Renee Pearman

Waddell Barnes, M.D. chair of the MSC Foundation, Macon State President David A. Bell and Dr. Michael A. Dirr admire a plant specimen from the campus Botanical Gardens. Photo by Ken Hill

Who better to launch a botanical gardens lecture series at Macon State College than nationally renowned horticulturist and best-selling author Dr. Michael A. Dirr?

"Mike's passion for gardening is con-tagious," said Waddell Barnes, M.D., a
master gardener who was among the more than 300 people attending Dirr's lecture
October 26.

"My hope this evening is to share the beauty and bounty of gardens that have captured my mind, heart and spirit," Dirr said at the beginning of his presentation, titled In Praise of Gardens: Their Spiritual, Cultural, Educational and Emotional Significance. "I want to take you on a tour of gardens I've visited and, hopefully, whet your appetite for the future of a botanical garden here."

He then led his guests on a visual tour of gardens on two continents, from his home in Athens, Ga., to the J.C. Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, N.C., then across the ocean to Powys Castle and Gardens in Wales, Crathes Castle Gardens in Scotland, Marwood Hill Arboretum in England and back to the University of Georgia Botanical Garden, where he was director from 1979-1981.

Barnes' choice for the first botanical gardens lecturer was Dirr, a professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia who has written hundreds of articles and several books on plants and gardening. Dirr's 1,225-page Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture, Propagation and Uses, first published in 1975 and now in its fifth edition, is considered the "bible" of woody landscape plants and is the most widely adopted teaching and reference text in the country.

In fact, Dirr is considered by many to be the most influential and respected expert on ornamental trees and shrubs in the country, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The evening with Dirr, which was open to the public, marked the premier of a series of annual lectures at Macon State College focusing on horticulture, landscaping and environmental issues. The series is under the sponsorship of Macon State's developing botanical gardens, a project spearheaded several years ago by Barnes, who also is chair of the Macon State College Foundation.

Dirr's horticulture lecture draws a crowd of more than 300 to the Student Life Center Photo by Ken Hill

"At the beginning, we thought of a botanical garden as a defined, relatively small area of the campus where we would plant diverse specimens that would be of horticultural interest in the Central Georgia area," Barnes said. "In the last couple of years, our working territory has enlarged. Now our charge is to develop the plant life of the entire 167-acre campus.

"We want this campus to be one of the reasons for choosing Macon State College. Going to college in such a setting will contribute to the development of a college spirit for students and faculty."

Barnes said he hopes the lecture series will bring to the campus first-time guests as well as those who have not visited Macon State recently, while also drawing attention to the Botanical Gardens.

"A garden is a sanctuary, a place for meditation and repose," Dirr told his Macon State audience. "All gardens are different, influenced by their makers. Gardens have been cultivated by all great cultures. Their functions have changed with the times. Certainly, Macon State College has the opportunity to build a garden that provides aesthetic and educational riches for faculty, staff, students and the greater Macon community."

To learn more about the botanical gardens at Macon State College, visit our website at http://www.maconstate.edu/botanical/default.aspx

Botanical Gardens Award

Waddell Barnes, M.D., presents the first Macon State College Botanical Gardens Award to Richard S. George. Photo by Ken Hill

Richard S. George of Macon, a retired Air Force colonel and founder of the Central Georgia Horticulture Society, is the recipient of the first Macon State College Botanical Gardens Award.

“Dick George is a person who has boosted the horticulture of this region for all of us,” said Waddell Barnes, M.D., who has guided the development of the college’s Botanical Gardens. “Through his association with the Central Georgia Horticulture Society, Dick, who is a master gardener, has worked constantly to present new ideas and make excellent speakers available to all.”

Barnes presented the award during a Botanical Gardens lecture at Macon State College October 26.

George, a native of Atlanta who has lived in Macon most of his life, served as the first president of the 6-year-old Central Georgia Horticulture Society. “The Horticulture Society grew out of a desire by people with a variety of gardening interests to meet informally, share experiences and hear from experts in such diverse areas as ornamental shrubs, perennials and annuals, herb cultivation and uses, wildflowers, camellias, vegetables and, inadvertently, weeds,” George said. “For most of our group, whether we have a large or small garden, it’s an extension of our living space—a state of mind as well as a place to be.”

One of the Horticulture Society’s projects has been working on a section of the landscaping plan for Liberty Lake in Macon’s Freedom Park.

George is a board member of U.S. Servas, a worldwide cooperative cultural exchange network, and a board member of EN CASA, the Central Georgia Hispanic organization. He and his wife, Rusty, are presidents-elect of the Howard Community Club, a neighborhood association, and members of High Street Unitarian Church.

— Renee Pearman