To paraphrase a line from a well-known movie, "...if you plant it, they will come!" But the question is, WHY?
Why do people come to the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden at UCLA?
The answer depends on who is responding to the question. I would venture to guess that there are almost as many reasons for coming to the MEMBG as there are plant families growing there.
Some garden aficionados come because of the informality of the place. Some people come to celebrate birthdays and other significant occasions in their personal or professional lives. The staff, visitors, and patients of the neighboring UCLA Medical Center come to enjoy a few moments of tranquillity in the midst of what often may be the overwhelming stress of dealing with a health crisis.
Photographers and artists come to take photographs and paint pictures of the many colorful flowers, the interesting shapes of shrubs and trees, and the plentiful wildlife that inhabit the garden. Musicians come to play their string or woodwind instruments in the inspiring, lush surroundings. Couples come to stroll in the dappled sunlight.
Researchers and students from UCLA and around the world come to study the multitude of plants and their differing adaptations to climates ranging from the tropics to the desert and beyond. Some come to observe the many exotic plants in our collection. Others come to learn about new plants by looking at the nametags placed throughout the garden.
Educational and community groups come to tour the garden and make use of The Nest, an outdoor classroom with semi-circular seating located under the ginkgo tree. Some people come to visit the garden on their own or in small groups. Others come for guided docent tours.
Many UCLA faculty, students, and staff come to get ideas for their own gardens--and maybe to pick up a cutting or two when they are being given away. Some of these garden-lovers visit and then decide to stay, joining the ever-growing corps of MEMBG volunteer gardeners and docents.
I come to the garden for may of the reasons listed above, and also because I am graced with a job that requires my being there from time to time. But, most significantly, I come to the garden because I have a great fondness and appreciation for it. It is the one place on campus--and in all of West Los Angeles--where I can really breathe. It is a place where, when I enter its perimeters, I just go "Ahhhhh." It is a place where I can more easily find myself at peace.
People come to the botanical garden because it is a place that satisfies their different needs. It is a place for research and instruction, a place for creative and spiritual inspiration, a place to enjoy solitude and or the company of others. It is also a place of healing.
CAROL FELIXSON, Docent and Communications Coordinator