A garden taking shape at Illinois State University’s Horticulture Center is showing a tree’s life doesn’t end when it dies.
The Logarium is a garden constructed around decomposing tree limbs and stumps from ISU’s Quad, which also doubles as the Fell Arboretum.
The university says more than 225 tree species are sprinkled throughout campus in the arboretum. Some have stood there for more than a century.
Horticulture Director Jessica Chambers pointed out an Austrian Pine that was planted on campus in 1861. The trunk was split into several large logs.
“You know, the fact that it's here, that it's part of the Logarium to me seems very respectful,” Chambers said, “more respectful than if we just chipped her.”
“If there’s significant trees, I’ve asked to please let us put them here and tell the story of it,” she continued.
That tree, among the many others in the garden, will now support new life.
Chambers said inspiration for the garden partially came from frustration as she saw trees that took years to grow mulched days after they had fallen.
“In nature, a felled tree has a huge role to play in the forest or in the woods,” she said. “They can continue to be a carbon sink, they can be a home for so many different types of biodiversity for different types of critters, nurse logs where they help other trees to grow.”
Different types of fungi were growing on decaying limbs at the garden. Ants and other bugs were crawling in and out of the bark, and some flowering plants were sprouting in and around the branches.
The garden has evolved over time as it’s grown, and it will continue to evolve as the tree limbs fall apart or more are added to the collection.
“People are like, ‘Are you afraid it’s going to decompose?’ and I’m like, no, that’s what it’s supposed to do,” Chambers said. “Then it will change from year to year, we’ll add a new log, we’ll tweak a garden.”
Chambers said chipmunks, squirrels and birds have started visiting the land, which was barren turf a year ago.
Chainsaw carvings
Beyond the living critters, carved animals can be found on the logs throughout the garden. They are somewhat hidden amongst the trees, which chainsaw carver Mischa Morales said she did to help capture how they would behave in nature.
“I’ve always been super into learning about animals and local species of plants,” Morales said. “I’ve just kind of integrated that into my work.”
A deer, a bobcat, a bald eagle and several other native Illinois animals are scattered throughout.
Morales is the child of chainsaw carvers. She comes from California and lived in Bloomington briefly. She said she connected with Chambers while displaying her art at a Bloomington farmers market event. She currently resides in Washington state.
Morales contributed to two other displays near the Logarium: A climbing tree covered in carvings and another tree, which has a wooden bird nesting at the top.
On the day WGLT visited the Logarium, Morales was cutting into a stump to make a stand for a sign carved out of a tree slice.
“I really enjoy being able to give a tree kind of a second life,” she said. “I really like the idea of giving it more personality, like the personality that already exists within it and giving people an opportunity to enjoy it again until it eventually decomposes.”
Hundreds of trees were damaged or destroyed across Bloomington-Normal after an intense storm Aug. 13 carried 60+ mph winds with it. That included some Quad trees.
Chambers said she has reached out to ISU groundskeepers to see if the broken limbs can be brought to the Logarium, but they have not been added to the garden yet.
Bloomington Public Works has reported staggering numbers of collected brush and debris, far outpacing the damage collected from the April tornadoes. This week, Bloomington reported it hauled away more than 1,000 truckloads so far.
Chambers is hoping the garden inspires others to leave fallen branches where they lay, or to create their own logarium in their backyard.
“Even if your garden is small, you can still have a couple logs or you can get clever with some different kinds of sticks and twigs,” she said. “All of that brings in more biodiversity.”
“There’s still life in these great trees,” she continued.
The Horticulture Center started planning for the Logarium last winter. In February, they started moving the branches from ISU’s groundskeeping graveyard to the Logarium. The university also raised $30,000 for the garden.
