Fabiano Botanical Gardens in the final phase of work
The Fabiano Botanical Garden west of Charles V. Park Library is in its last phases of landscape renovation.
Student and faculty volunteers are currently working on Phase 5, the Plants and Society garden, which will include a children's garden. The sixth and final phase of the garden will be called 'Landscape Demonstration'.
The Fabiano Botanical Garden is privately funded, and its continuation will depend on further private donations. The new pavilion, located near the pond, is the result of a donation by Isabella Bank.
“I’ve had people tell me it’s very park-like,” said Patti Travioli, manager of Fabiano Botanical Garden. “It’s a nice place to relax and get away from the stress of school and jobs.”
The idea for the Fabiano Botanical Garden came when Jim Fabiano visited a similar garden at Michigan State University six years ago. He decided to help fund a garden for CMU’s campus.
Travioli said she hopes the garden will be completed in at least two years, while the wait for more donations continue.
Most of the students who work on the garden are biology and environmental majors, Tavioli said. They do not receive any credit for their work, she said; they just do it for fun.
“I don’t know what I would do without the students, because the gardens don’t take care of themselves,” Travioli said.
Mio senior Matthew Garnett is a geology major who works for Travioli in CMU’s greenhouse and also volunteers with the garden. His interest with plants started at home in his family’s garden.
Garnett performs general maintenance on the garden plants, which includes picking out weeds and dead plants, and pruning shrubs.
He said he enjoys working with the garden because it allows him to get to know different plant types.
“It’s a unique spot where people can see a lot of different native plants in Michigan,” Garnett said. “As the plants mature and spread out more, they look so much better.”
Armada senior Pasquale Moceri enjoys sitting on a bench in perfect view of the garden while he reads.
"I’ve been here a couple of times, because it’s better than all of the other spots on campus,” Moceri said. “It’s actually pretty sweet.”
