Chris Tamasi
Encounters with Nature
Professor López
Organized Chaos
As I travelled to Smith College on a rainy afternoon in November, I struggled to
understand the purpose of a botanical garden. I had never been exposed to anything like it and
was excited for my imagination to meet reality. Unfortunately, the aesthetic beauty of the
exterior garden was hindered by the combination of most plants not being in blooming season
and the damage from the recent storm. The organization of the systematics beds was still vivid,
making the scientific influence on nature the main focus for those viewing the gardens. I was
curious to view plant life that was more appealing than the exterior, so I entered the side door of
the Lyman Conservatory. As I peeled back the large palm blocking the doorway, it felt like I
was in the middle of the ‘jungle’. The visual order found in the outside gardens was lost beneath
the density of such exotic plants. The array of plants in the garden conveys scientific information
using a traditional evolutionary organization system, whereas the nature of the palm house is
overwhelming and tough to follow.
An inferior feeling is cast over those entering the humid palm house due to the dominant
nature of the foreign plants’ size, color, and texture. Stepan notes that in certain depictions of the
tropical world, the plants “have a certain botanical plausibility but are also subtly exaggerated in
scale and shape.”1 Experiencing the paramount tropical setting created in the Lyman
Conservatory first hand allows one to understand why an artist would subtly exaggerate the
essence of each plant. One feels dwarfed by plants such as the prickly cycad (Encephalartos
Stepan, Nancy Leys. "Introduction, and Going to the Tropics ." In Picturing Tropical Nature,
11-56, 240-245. New York: Cornell University Press, 2001.
1
altensteinii), stretching to the ceiling, spreading its fern-like leaves that act as a canvas blocking
the sunlight from travelling to those below. This part of the greenhouse shows that Smith College
created an “idea of tropical nature in a particular kind of place or space, with its own
characteristic ensembles of plants”, represented by foreign plants accumulated from all over the
world that can immediately be identified as 'tropical'.2
The classification of each plant represents the scientific purpose of collecting this
assortment of plant life from the various tropical regions of the world. In an attempt to capture
everything in front of me as I entered the palm room from outside, I noticed an allotment of
plants that could have easily been overlooked due to their bland appearance. A keen eye would
realize that a plants appearance has no correlation to its purpose. The rubber tree (Hevea
brasiliensis) has no clear beauty but it’s bark gives off a milky latex extract that produces rubber.
This material has a significant economic influence on today’s society. I began to gain knowledge
I didn’t have about the botanical garden’s purpose that I didn’t have prior to visiting Smith
College. The collection of plants were ordered scientifically, labeled, and maintained as an
opportunity to gain knowledge about the aesthetic and scientific beauty of the plant kingdom.
Further botanical knowledge can be gained by contrasting the clash between the disarray
in the palm room with the organized layout of the outdoor systematics beds. The systematics
beds are gardens with various species arranged in a manner that reflects their evolutionary
history. This order gives viewers an understanding on how the assorted plants have developed
over time. It is much easier to follow the elliptical beds planted within the grass, one after
another, in rows, than miss a species in the palm room that wasn’t easily visible at first glance.
Smith College “strives to achieve a balance in their bed layout that reflects accepted theories but
2
Stepan, p. 15
are also aesthetically pleasing.”3 I believe that the aesthetically pleasing order of the systematics
beds uses a structured educational layout that separates itself from the palm house.
I found myself thinking back to Professor Courtright’s lecture on the contrast between the
gardening techniques of England and France. These regional systems were comparable to the
palm house and the systematic beds in general terms. The French organized gardens in a
geometric fashion that showed nature was shaped for the needs of human beings. Man’s domain
over nature gave opportunity for patrons to create any landscape that they imagined. Smith
College did exactly this with the design of their exterior gardens and ultimately the entire
campus. The college’s first president, L. Clarke Seelye, had the vision in mind to develop the
whole campus as a botanical garden in hopes that it might be both scientifically and aesthetically
valuable. Turner discuses the developing motives of the design of college campuses and states
that the, “transcendental notions of nature are inherently more beautiful and uplifting than
cities”.4 It remains Smith College’s mission to maintain the Seelye’s vision for visitors to escape
the business of the city and let the gardens enthrall its visitors with is aesthetically pleasing order
and scientific beauty.
The gardening techniques of England placed no boundaries on nature’s limitless beauty.
Similar to the palm house, this lack of structure maintains the landscapes natural authenticity.
Thomas notes that, “neatness, symmetry, and formal patterns had always been the distinctively
Dean, Gabrielle; McIntyre, Meaghan. “The Botanic Garden of Smith College: Systematic
Beds”. Understanding Plant Systematics. p. 1. Brochure.
3
Turner, Paul Venable. "Expansion and Mythmaking." In Campus An American Planning
Tradition, 89-128, 315-318. New York: MIT Press, 1990.
4
human way of indicating the separation between culture and nature”5, but the uniform style of a
natural setting became more appealing. The concept of the sublime isn’t a factor for the palm
house because it projects a different kind of beauty to those who peel around the corners of each
pathway. An invigorating feeling runs through one who is faced with something not seen before,
such as the many exotic plants in the palm house. It becomes essential not to miss the littlest
details of the plant life, but the cluttered alignment of the plants makes it impossible to account
for the scientific significance as well as the plant’s aesthetic value.
The bounty of plant life to study on the grounds of Smith College can be a lot to handle
during one visit. Although, the palm house is an adventure into the unknown, the tidiness of the
systematics beds are a more effective way of placing both aesthetic and scientific beauty in
unison. The systematics beds emulate the vision President Seelye had over a hundred years ago
to foster the educational value of science’s beauty and importance of the plant kingdom. The
systematics beds are a perfect example that the order of the botanical garden at Smith College
will never be lost, even after the storm.
Keith Thomas, “Cultivation or Wilderness?” Man and the Natural World: Changing Attitudes
in England, 1500-1800 (New York: Oxford UP, 1983). 254-269
5
Introduction:
Positive Emotional response: (delighted) i really enjoyed the way that you approached your
introduction in a story telling manor. It made reading it less intimidating and more enjoyable.
Negative Emotional response: (uninterested) The beginning of your intro is great the story telling
style grabs the readers attention although I felt as though when you reached the thesis, it fell a
little flat. Perhaps you could take your thesis a little farther by throwing in some interesting
hypothesis or a question that you plan to answer to further entice the reader.
I hope you explore the details which make the outside more scientific than the interior space, and
then perhaps state which style of gardening is better or more successful in your opinion.
Conclusion:
Positive emotional response: (satisfied) i thought that this conclusion wrapped up your paper
very well, because you took a distinct side.
Negative response: (confused) I understood what you meant when you compared the palm house
to the systematics gardens “Although, the palm house is an adventure into the unknown, the
tidiness of the systematics beds are a more effective way of placing both aesthetic and scientific
beauty in unison.” although for people who haven’t visited the garden this sentence might be a
little confusing. I think it would be best if you clarify the the “palm house is an adventure into
the unknown” because of its layout. (this might not seem very important but I think it would give
your conclusion a lot more clarity.)
hey chris!
thanks for the comments. I missed those grammatical and punctuation mistakes in my intro so
thanks for pointing them out to me, and I agree about my conclusion, I am going to try to wrap it
up a little better in my final draft.
forever and EVER,
Ar
-----Original Message----From: Christopher Tamasi 15
Sent: Wed 11/30/2011 7:43 AM
To: Ariana Twomey 15
Subject: RE: Paper
Ari,
I enjoyed reading your intro/conclusion to your essay!
Intro:
Positive- Intrigued. You choose to compare the English and French gardening styles to the
interior/exterior of Smith College's botanical garden which interests me as a reader on how you
go about this argument.
Negative-Confused. The sentence, "Although botanists have used similar techniques to sustain
plant life, in the greenhouses as well as exterior gardens of Smith College have been created to
reflect two vastly different European styles with distinctly different layouts", needs to be revised
in some way to make more sense. I don't think the comma after plant life serves the sentence
well but may be better off after 'greenhouses' and 'College'...up to you on how to clean it up.
Conclusion:
Positive-Satisfied. Your conclusion seems to fit well with the ideas you expressed in the
introduction. It does a nice job of sending the reader off with a thought in mind.
Negative-Disappointed? I think the use of Walpole's quote is fitting for what you're trying to say
but you introduce the quote, use the quote, then discuss its influence and then the essay ends. I
feel that maybe one last sentence relating Walpole's comment back to Smith College would fit
nicely into the ending of your conclusion.
I hope that you adress the issues adressed in your introduction and create strong arguments for
both the French and English tastes of gardening as you compare/contrast. There is a lot of good
stuff to work with and I hope the point you plan on proving is adressed. As far as avoiding
pitfalls, I just hope that you stay on task with what you're discussing and talk about both the palm
house and the outdoors in relation to the English/French. Looks good!
Goodluck!
-Chris
Hey ChrisI really enjoyed the glimpse into your essay! Here's what I had to say about it:
Introductory Paragraph.
Positive Emotion = Agreeable
- “Unfortunately, the aesthetic beauty of the garden was hindered by the combination of most
plants not being in blooming season and the damage from the recent storm.” This is a very astute
observation that I too found striking upon visiting the gardens.
Negative Emotion = Lost
- I felt that I was reading a body paragraph at times. I would recommend that you slim down on
the detail and instead, focus on more broader, generalized statements.
Concluding Paragraph.
Positive Emotion = Enlightened
- I really enjoyed the historical perspective of the garden’s patron: Smith College and President
Seelye. I did not dive into the historical background of the botanical gardens (perhaps I should),
but I think it made your concluding paragraph more purposeful.
Negative Emotion = Confused
- You seem to be focusing quite a bit on the “systematics beds”. Your introduction did not
mention these beds, yet your conclusion has a major emphasis on them. Perhaps you have been
working towards them in your body paragraphs?
Issues that I hope you address:
- Quite simply, I hope that you address all of the issues that you plan on addressing in your
introductory paragraph. You seem to have a lot to talk about—from the jungle to the systematic
beds—hopefully all to prove a point.
Pitfalls that I hope you avoid:
- Likewise, I hope that you avoid hopping from idea to idea, failing to focus on one specific trait
to analyze. Overall, I would love to see what two rooms you chose to compare and contrast (I
know that one is the Palm Room).
-Greg
Hey Greg,
Thanks for your comments, I appreciate your insight and will take another look at my essay!
Here's what I thought about yours...
Intro:
Positive- Excited. Loved the first few sentences and the vivid image created in mind. Great hook
for readers giving a solid sense to where you want to go with your essay.
Negative- Confused/Thought-provoking?- I struggled to find any negatives but the sentence "The
highway slices the terrain into two equivalent components, suggestive of the symmetry of the
Smith Botanical Gardens and Conservatory" confused me as to what parts of the
garden/conservatory were symmetric that you'd be referring to in your essay.
Conclusion:
Positive-Pleased. First sentence shows me that you developed the ideas mentioned in your
introduction.
Negative- I would have liked to have seen where the rest of the paragraph was going but it seems
to all be heading in the right direction of wrapping up a solid essay.
I hope that you make it clear what exactly you are comparing and contrasting in the
indoor/outdoor parts of the garden throughout your essay as you develop a strong argument. As
far as pitfalls go, I hope the bulk of your essay avoids being to vague about what exactly you're
talking about and takes a more specific approach.
Im sure you have a great essay. Looks good!
Goodluck.
-Chris