In the 1960s and 1970s, Dr. A. Michael Powell of the Biology Department at Sul Ross State University proposed a cactus garden to include all specimens of cacti indigenous to the Chihuahuan Desert as it overlaps the Trans-Pecos, a vast arid land which includes more species of cacti than are found in the Sonora Desert and more than are found in Arizona.  The board of regents did not favor Powell’s proposal.  Years went by.  Then, finally, in preparation for Sul Ross’ Diamond Jubilee celebration in 1996 and the renovation of Lawrence Hall, the potential drama of such a unique garden was recognized.

    The architect built the formal brick edging, and Powell was called to make the garden.  He wanted a hybrid form: a combination of classically ordered beds with the presentation of cacti much as it is in its natural habitat.  To avoid hurting the Earth, some specimens would be collected, but most would come from the university’s greenhouses, having been propagated from seeds and cuttings.  The first planting was by Dr. Powell, Mrs. Powell and a student assistant with the help of Jack Brady, the first environmental science technician, who had procured a lot of original plants himself.  Brady was soon succeeded by Patty Manning.  Patty had been an engineer technician for the Texas Highway Department, specializing in native plant landscape.  Hired at Sul Ross in 1996, she was, according to Dr. Powell, a perfect match.  "Manning knows how fields and habitats work and has a powerful visual imagination and memory," Powell said.  Since her first involvement with the Sul Ross cactus garden, Manning has concentrated on individual beds/gardens to create within them a closer representation of their natural environments.  But the garden allows also for larger applications and studies.  Areas that Manning has an interest in are population genetics, variability within species, the study of genetic inheritance and morphological similarity and divergence.

    It’s difficult to describe just what is so charming about this relatively small garden.  I'd walked right past it to Lawrence Hall without even becoming aware of it.  So for me, it was an exciting discovery, and each miniscule species of cactus seemed like a happy revelation.  Perhaps some of the "specialness" comes from seeing everyday plants set into a habitat that leads us to consider them anew.  Some of the great gardens we know of, vistas from palaces in France and England, are primarily about a traditional order.  Other great gardens, such as Hampstead Heath in London or our own Central Park in New York, are experiments in wildness, efforts to give citizens a respite from their gritty urban environment and connect them once again to their relationship with the fertile Earth.  We do have a city park.  But with the Big Bend National Park and the new state park so close, and with a majestic landscape in every direction, perhaps we don’t need such a complete escape as much as those surrounded by a gritty urban environment.

    Landscape architecture is a discipline which negotiates between architects, designers and gardeners.  Beth Francell is a local citizen who went back to school to earn the credentials recommended for the trade.  But it’s a discipline that can be practiced without the normal credentials.  And the cactus garden at Sul Ross is one of Francell’s favorites.  "I've always loved it," she said.  And the profession is still fluid.  The garden at the new Getty Museum in California, for example, was designed by the artist Robert Irwin. It seems delightful that there is still such freedom in a traditional art form and exciting that this small jewel of a garden is right here in Alpine.