In the nearby corner of two stone walls several varieties of Rhododendrons (above) provide color in early to mid May. The trees and shrubs were planted in 1992. Evergreens include Colorado bluespruce, Douglas fir, Weeping Alaska cedar; deciduous trees include Columnar hornbeam and Kousa dogwood.
When the Dion Science and Engineering Building was added to Group II, the architecturally interesting zigzag of the outer staircase was lost. The north end of the new Dion building, center focus to all that enter the campus, had become flat and unimaginative.
Trees were recommended by the UMD Landscape Committee to add visual interest with vertical lines from conifers and horizontal ones by flowering dogwood. The trees are still growing into scale, but in a few years, they will accomplish the intent of the design.
