Benjamin Courtyard

A quiet corner of campus, the Benjamin Courtyard is a spot to study, think, read, and unplug from daily pressures. The majority of intensive plantings started in April 2011 with the two small trees prominent in each bed, Seven-son Flower (Heptacodium miconioides).  

The 'Lord Baltimore' Hibiscus are the large red blooms and mean a lot to the College of Education; it was one of the plants saved from an earlier planting by Tom Bryant when the garden renovation was done in April 2011.

Other plants are 'White Out' Rose; Rosa 'Bucbi' Carefree Beauty, an Earth-kind award winner by Dr. Griffith J. Buck of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa; Clustered Mountainmint (Pycnanthemum muticum); 'Kate' Hybrid Hardy Ground Orchid (Bletilla x yokohama 'Kate'); Hardy Ground Orchid Mix (Bletilla striata); 'September Charm' hybrid Japanese Anemone (Anemone x hybrida 'September Charm'); Narrow-leaved Hosta (Hosta lancifolia) one of, if not the last Hosta species or hybrids to bloom.

Annuals are used, such as Canary Wing Begonia and Artist Blue Ageratum.  

The brick and slate M in the center of the patio was designed and installed by Kevin Brown.  It was the first use of this style of M on the UMD campus.  Another rendition was just installed this week in the brick inlay between the lanes of traffic between CSPAC and the Stadium Drive Parking Garage with Kevin Brown as the project lead.