Grounds

Grounds In 1892, plans designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted were adopted by President Seelye to turn the Smith College campus into a single large botanic garden, labeling all trees and shrubs for aesthetic and educational purposes. Francis Ganong was appointed the first director of the botanic garden in 1894, and a systematics garden, based on the theories of Adolf Engler and Karl Prantl was added to the plan under his direction. The master plan has undergone numerous changes, including new systems of walkways and lawns, the expansion of the Lyman Plant House, the construction of a Japanese tea hut and garden, and the reorganization of the herbaceous garden according to more current evolutionary theories.

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