My First Experience With Nature at Penn State

At first, I was quite skeptical about going to the arboretum. Although I enjoy the outdoors, I would hardly consider myself a nature-lover. I like going fishing and being outside, but when I pictured the arboretum, I imagined it as just a flower garden, which isn’t really something that sounds interesting to me. After making the trip there with the class, my mind was changed.

            I found the arboretum to be a very peaceful, scenic place. One of the most interesting spots I came across there was the small man-made pond. Colorful bunches of aquatic plants littered the water between the floating lily pads. In the center, the tallest of the plants stood higher than six feet out of the water. There were even a few larger lily pads two or three feet in diameter scattered around the surface. The thing that intrigued me the most about the small pond was the bright orange goldfish that you could see meandering through the underwater garden. Some of the plant life I saw here even reminded me of the plants that I saw in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. It’s truly amazing to me that people were able to get such a diverse range of plants to grow in an area that they are not native to.

            One other characteristic of the arboretum that caught my attention was the diverse amount of flowers and plants that you can see when walking through the gardens. On one side, giant bulbs hanging from plant stems six or seven feet off the ground fence in the paths. The other side is filled with a colorful array of flowers that look like they should be on an island in the Caribbean. Another interesting plant that you can find at the arboretum is the palm tree like shrub that is near the man-made pond. It looks like a miniature palm tree that you would see lining the streets in Miami or Las Angeles. This really amazed me that a plant like this could be found in the fall in central PA. At the end of the arboretum, there is a giant white canopy overlooking the forest in the distance. One bare tree stands before the large expanse of fields bordering the gardens. In my opinion, this was the best view offered by the arboretum.

            Overall, I would say my experience visiting Penn State’s arboretum was a positive one. It was my first time even hearing about it, let alone visiting it, and hopefully I’ll be able to make it back there sometime soon. Would I recommend visiting the arboretum to my friends? Of course I would. It may just be one of the most scenic spots on campus. Whether you are a nature person or not, it is definitely worth the trip. The arboretum could be a great spot to go check out on a not so busy day, especially since it’s only a few minutes walk from East.