The long-awaited planting of the emergency entrance to the UCLA hospital, at Le Conte and Tiverton, is finished. Thanks to a generous amount of patience on the part of Amy Wills, project manager for the hospital, those entering south campus from Westwood Village can enjoy an exciting new look. The planting was designed and installed by MEMBG staff, with a little help from our friends.
In early 1997, hospital staff asked us to submit a project plan and an estimate for landscaping that would complement two new entrance towers illuminating the way to hospital services. Our winning bid allowed us not only to serve the hospital, but also to seize the opportunity to tame the very old, straggly oleanders that covered the crest of the Le Conte bank. When the design was presented to Heath Science Capital Projects, all parties agreed that the planting area, from the new signs eastward to the current southern boundary of MEMBG, should be planted and managed by our garden, as it had been earlier in our history. This will allow us to develop plant collections that require substantially more sunlight than we can provide within our fence.
Even though the Le Conte bank has great southern exposure, heavy soil has always made this a difficult area for plant cultivation. A generous contribution of soil amendments from Kellogg's Supply enabled us to improve soil quality for the project.
We put in more than 1,000 plants, obtained from Kei Nakai at Hawthorne Nursery in El Segundo and from John Greenlee of Greenlee Nursery in Pomona and Malibu. The new planting emphasizes drought-tolerant toughies. More than a dozen species of evergreens will give a warm "blue and gold" welcome when in flower. The prostrate Ceanothus griseus f. horizontalis, for example, will produce gorgeous blue flowers. Nandina domestica compacta nana now hides the concrete skirt of the towers, while woolly thyme, Thymus pseudolanuginosus, will soon be cascading down the retaining walls. We also used several perennial grasses, including Stipa tenuissima and Miscanthus transmorrisonensis. Perhaps most unusual is a specimen tree of western redbud, Cercis occidentalis, which should provide an attractive accent during the spring.
Economically, the project could not have been completed the dedication of all of our staff members and contributions from several garden volunteers, including Bonnie Lammar, Ellen Dollase, and Janica Jones. Pieter Severynen deserves special recognition for spending several days helping to achieve the final look. The hospital got a great deal, at very close to cost--in fact, the project may have cost us some funds. But, as our garden director stated, for us it was a small price for important exposure. Did he mean exposure to the sun?
RAND PLEWAK (Garden Manager)