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Peace Garden

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The heart of this garden, located in a shaded enclave of the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, is the iconic silver Peace Symbol sculpture, designed by Robert Engman in 1969. The sculpture is surrounded by a small grove of Chinese elms, whose reddish exfoliating bark, sinuous forms, and fine-textured foliage adds subtle beauty and dappled shade to the peaceful surroundings. The garden is informal and naturalistic, while the plants are intended to be all-white flowering shrubs, perennials, bulbs, and annuals. Students have historically used this space as a site of protest, such as during the Vietnam War and the Women’s Liberation Movement. The Peace Garden evokes calm and is a reminder of generations of and tribute to student activism at Penn.


Plants in this garden include:

'Ice Dance' Japanese sedge (Carex 'Ice Dance')

Daffodil (Narcissus sp.)

Plantain lily (Hosta sp.)

Goat's beard (Aruncus dioicus)

Japanese tree lilac (Syringa reticulata)

Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia)

Thornless common honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis)

Peace Garden Gallery - Click Images to Enlarge

Images attributed to specific artists are the property of the photographer.

 
 		  
 		  
 		  
 
 
 		  
 		 Students giving a demonstration in the peace garden during the Womens Liberation Movement in the 1970s, image courtesy of the University Archives
Students giving a demonstration in the peace garden during the Women's Liberation Movement in the 1970s, image courtesy of the University Archives		 The iconic peace statue hoisted into place by students protesting the Vietnam War. It still stands today. Image courtsey of the University Archives.
The iconic peace statue hoisted into place by students protesting the Vietnam War. It still stands today. Image courtsey of the University Archives.
Goats beard (<i>Aruncus dioicus</i>)
Goat's beard (Aruncus dioicus)		 Daffodil (<i>Narcissus</i> sp.)
Daffodil (Narcissus sp.)		 Ice Dance Japanese sedge (<i>Carex</i> Ice Dance)
'Ice Dance' Japanese sedge (Carex 'Ice Dance')		 Japanese tree lilac (<i>Syringa reticulata</i>)
Japanese tree lilac (Syringa reticulata)
Azalea (<i>Rhododendron</i> sp.)
Azalea (Rhododendron sp.)		 Seed pods and leaves of the common honeylocust (<i>Gleditsia triacanthos</i> var. <i>inermis</i>)
Seed pods and leaves of the common honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis)		 Attractive bark of the Chinese elm (<i>Ulmus parvifolia</i>)
Attractive bark of the Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia)		  

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More Gardens & Parks

James G. Kaskey Park (BioPond) Blanche P. Levy Park (College Green) Dogwood Garden Geology Garden Edward W. Kane Park Lenape Garden Memorial Garden Penn Park Shakespeare Garden Shoemaker Green Shoemaker Green Rain Garden Stoner Courtyard Pollinator Garden and Food Forest Warden Garden Class of 1942 Garden

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