The Tree Row and the Big Blue Fence

Big changes are coming to the Arboretum at Penn State. Over the next several years, the gardens will be growing and expanding, and a brand new art museum will be built on the Arboretum grounds. New items will include an education center, a conservatory, a planetarium, and a bunch of new gardens, including a Medieval garden and a garden for birds!

I knew that some of these things were coming, but it was still a shock in October, when I went to wander into the pollinator gardens and discovered they didn't exist anymore! Instead, there was a muddy hole in the ground, and a big fence with a sign that said Construction Area - Do Not Enter.

The fencing runs from the edge of the existing pollinator gardens, near the lily pond you've seen so often on these pages, to the tree row along the lane to the PSU president's house. That tree row has been a favorite photo op of mine, especially in early November when its foliage typically peaks. Now it has an additional feature: a big, blue fence.

I am not so sure about this fence. Part of me thinks it's visually interesting simply because it's new and blue. Part of me thinks it's an eyesore, and wants it gone! But guess what - it's going to be there for a while, so I'd better get used to it!

In this photo, you may see the tree row, which is no longer at peak. That happened last week and I missed it. Now most of those pretty leaves are on the ground. I am also a fan of that wooden fence along the tree row, which looks mighty fine in a fresh blanket of snow (see the extra photo to this blip). I have to admit that I wonder how it'll all look against that big blue fence.

Our soundtrack song is this one: Madonna, with True Blue.