BY SOFIA PINEDO-PADOCH

In print | November 3, 2005

Walking to my Monday morning class, I thought I saw a man painted bright blue walking along Parrish Beach. I immediately dismissed the idea and continued through the Swarthmore campus. Looking up, I noticed the recently famous blue tree standing peacefully in the Kohlberg garden. I failed, however, to make any connection between my imaginary “blue man” and the “blue tree.” What can I say: I guess it was too early in the morning.

In fact, that blue man had been quite real. In the spirit of Halloween, Dwight Darkow, a gardener for the Scott Arboretum, had dressed up as the blue tree. The legendary blue tree. This new addition to the Swarthmore campus was the inspiration of Todd Rounsaville, the new curatorial intern at the Scott Arboretum. A while back, Rounsaville noticed that the tree had died and decided to do something interesting with it. He was motivated by the work of garden photographer Andrew Lawson, who once noticed an “odd void” in his home garden several days before hosting a party. A few of his trees had died. Moved by the creative spirit, Lawson painted the lifeless trees. Pictures of his work appeared in a prominent gardening magazine, where Rounsaville noticed it for the first time.

Rounsaville began painting the Kohlberg tree during fall break. In between torrential downpours, he took his brush and painted the “sculpture” bit by bit. The project took about four to five hours to complete. This was a bit longer than Rounsaville expected, he remarked, because people constantly stopped to ask him what he was doing. I proposed that this reflected on the Swattie’s insatiable desire for learning, but Rounsaville told me, “everybody thought I was hurting the tree.”

A graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a degree in botany, Rounsaville assures each one of us that he did not cause the tree any pain. As curatorial intern, he cares for the most delicate of our plants. He has his own concerns about the livelihoods of flora on this campus. In particular, Rounsaville is worried about the defenseless trees located in front of the fraternities. He urges environmentally conscious students to make sure there is no damage incurred upon these innocent bystanders.

Back when he was a student at the University of Rhode Island, Rounsaville remembers, “The plants were not well maintained and the people did not appreciate them.” Though he is new at Swarthmore (he only just arrived in August), Rounsaville has been pleased by our environmentally appreciative student body. This encouraging atmosphere has made the avid gardener more and more excited about special Scott Arboretum projects.

Horticulture coordinator Jeff Jabco calls him Swarthmore’s very own “Christo.” This comment makes remarkable sense. When I brought up the blue tree with Tess Clearman ‘09 and Caroline Crooms ’09, it immediately caused passionate debate. One of them was pro-blue tree while the other was anti-blue tree, much like last winter, when my high school art class was torn apart by Christo’s New York City Gates. Our own resident Christo has sparked a discussion that will endure as the seasons change, the leaves fall, and the blue tree continues to stand just the same.

When I visited the Arboretum, I found a bunch of staff members gathered around Rounsaville. These people were quite clearly his fan club. The blue man, Dwight Darkow, chattered on with Jeff Jabco and another employee dressed in a bright pink, flowered jacket. They laughed on about the popularity of the blue man and blue tree, and suggested some related moneymaking schemes. Would rich alumni be tempted by a monthly calendar, a different “blue” photo for each month? Maybe, maybe. There were many promising possibilities. While the three of them chattered on, Rounsaville stood to the side and smiled. He had not foreseen this sort of impact.

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