More than 150 years ago on the banks of the Red Cedar, a modest plot of low, irregular land in the heart of what was then the Michigan Agricultural College was reclaimed for the plants. Quickly overflowing with a wide range of cold-hardy herbaceous plants, it was ultimately nature that had the final say in the arrangement of the space and what would spread and thrive in this sunken garden and its surrounding sandy knolls. It was known as the “wild garden,” just as W.J. Beal intended.
In his time at Michigan State University, Beal often discussed the importance of planting native species together and ensuring plants are placed in the conditions that are best suited for them to grow and thrive. Why fight nature when it seems to have its own plan and preferences?
A legacy rooted
As the oldest continuously operated university botanical garden in the United States, Beal Botanical Garden has expanded and changed throughout the course of its history. Its original hilly topography has been leveled with fill from an early expansion of MSU’s football stadium. Two of its three original ponds and the stream through the middle have been lost. The garden beds have changed in shape and composition over time.
But through change, what always remains is that Beal Botanical Garden has allowed generations of Spartans the opportunity to connect with and explore the natural world. At its core, Beal founded the “wild garden” to be a living laboratory that would teach and support Michigan native plant conservation.
It is with that legacy in mind that Beal Botanical Garden embarks on its next chapter of growth — a new land use plan that will keep the garden firmly embedded in its roots and plant seeds for the future.
“As we look to the future, our team has been reflecting on the mark these years will leave on this cherished space in collaboration with members of the communities we serve,” said Alan Prather, director of Beal Botanical Garden. “We are honored to share a vision for the Beal Botanical Garden that advances opportunities for deeper interconnection between people, plants and place while also bringing the garden back to its roots."
The vision for the garden’s next phase of evolution is the culmination of a multi-year planning and feedback process. Guidance and recommendations from a planning committee with representatives from across campus, community open house sessions and ongoing opportunities for student feedback helped set the stage for a plan that is deeply integrated into needs and the dreams of MSU.
This land use plan keeps its collection of over 2,000 botanicals at its heart. As stewards of the land and its verdure, the garden team will return to a close collaboration with nature in selecting native plants that are best adapted to Michigan’s soil and climate. The fuller, lusher landscape will increase the plantings to lawn ratio which is not only more sustainable for the garden’s Red Cedar watershed environment, but it will create a more natural experience for visitors that aligns with what the garden looked like in its early years. Two new ponds will also be added, to bring back what was lost.
Beal Botanical Garden has recently become the only garden in Michigan awarded prestigious accreditation from Botanic Gardens Conservation International in recognition of their demonstrated commitment to plant conservancy. Nourishing the environment with ample native species illustrates the interconnectedness between flora, fauna and ourselves in creating a sustainable, thriving ecosystem.
Refreshed arrangements of the collection into new gardens with ties to MSU’s history, research expertise and the biodiversity of our region will also create new opportunities for engagement for visitors. Text that highlights that interconnectedness, focusing on the ways in which plants are relevant to culture and society, will complement the scientific plant-level info that visitors have always loved.
“The Beal Botanical Garden’s redesign underscores the ways that collections enable interdisciplinary knowledge and discovery,” said Judith Stoddart, vice provost for University Arts and Collections. “By connecting ecologies, histories, and cultures, their gardens will provide new ways to understand and explore the interrelations between people and plants, while also enhancing the role the garden has played for so many generations of Spartans.”
Additional physical upgrades will help ensure the garden is even more closely aligned with university needs around teaching, learning, and accessibility. The land use plan includes an accessible ramp and additional walking paths, as well as new gathering areas for class use and public programs.
The iconic natural hillsides surrounding the garden will remain as well as the historic trees that were planted by Beal, ensuring visitors have the same tranquil escape under dappled sunlight that they have always enjoyed.
“The garden is, and always has been, a place at the heart of campus to where we can experience the restoring power of nature,” Stoddart said.
Go green
True to the Spartan way, the reimagined Beal Botanical Garden will offer far more than an enhanced experience for visitors on campus. The team is designing it to serve as a model for university botanical gardens everywhere, demonstrating how a garden can advance education, research, community engagement and sustainability in meaningful and innovative ways.
The garden already plays an essential role in the university's academic mission, supporting more than 60 courses across several MSU colleges and providing learning opportunities for more than 2,000 students each year. The transformed garden will expand those opportunities even further by intentionally integrating education and research into the heart of its design, creating new spaces and resources that enable transdisciplinary teaching, discovery and collaboration.
"Beal Botanical Garden continues to serve as an evergreen exemplar of MSU’s grounding mission to advance knowledge and transform lives through education, research, and outreach and engagement," said Provost Laura Lee McIntyre. “The forward-thinking vision of the garden’s land use plan will foster interdisciplinary learning and collaboration in innovative ways, advancing student success and academic excellence across our community of scholars.”
At the same time, the garden's evolution will honor its rich history while preparing it for the future. By preserving and celebrating its long legacy, the project will strengthen connections between generations of Spartans, ensuring the garden continues to inspire and serve future students.
By opening this new chapter for the garden that is deeply rooted in MSU’s values and history, Beal Botanical Garden demonstrates that centering learning, embracing institutional strengths, and letting local biodiversity lead the way can create a model with global impact.
Growth and gratitude
Making Beal Botanical Garden “wild at heart” would not be possible without the support of the green and white community, and several generous gifts have already made a significant impact.
This year, the McGrady family committed support for a new outdoor classroom. The first of its kind on campus, this classroom will be a river overlook, enabling Spartans of the future to study, reflect and enjoy a view of the Red Cedar that reaches beyond the banks. The entire McGrady family are Spartans, including Patrick (‘65), the family patriarch, who passed away in 2025. Patrick, a graduate of the Eli Broad College of Business worked in a greenhouse as his first job. His career was in finance, but he loved his yard, his walks in the park and his vacations on the beach. Angele (‘66), a graduate of the Department of Physiology, grew up in an apartment in the Bronx. Her first sight of MSU’s campus, with its farms, bright green grass and flowers in full bloom was awe-inspiring. She went on to earn her doctorate at the University of Toledo and taught many years at the University of Toledo Medical Center.
Their two adult children, Michele (‘96) and Kevin (‘02), as well as their daughter-in-law Brandy (‘04), are also all graduates of MSU — from James Madison College, Broad College of Business and College of Human Ecology respectively.
MSU has been important to the entire family and their history. When it came to their legacy and impact on campus, the McGrady family knew that Beal Botanical Garden was one place where all their varied passions and interests overlapped.
“Love of nature, gardens and flowers are part of all our lives. We nurture indoor and outdoor plants. We believe in the power of nature to energize, to calm and heal,” Angele McGrady said.
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The Fedore family also has deep ties to MSU. While balancing his studies in the College of Social Science and time on the MSU football team, Craig Fedore ('78) met his lifelong partner Therese (‘80). Craig and Therese spent part of their first date wandering Beal Botanical Garden into the evening and continued to share many memories there over the years. Although Therese has passed, her family legacy and love of nature is honored through the family’s support of the Michigan Flora Garden — now called the Therese and Craig Fedore Michigan Flora Garden. This space, at the heart of the garden, will highlight the diversity of plants from Michigan and highlight cultural connections between plants and Michiganders.
“This garden will always hold a piece of her spirit — just as Michigan State and East Lansing have been the backdrop to our lives, and the memories we had with our family and friends,” Craig Fedore said.
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Additional transformative gifts have been made by Ken Klegon, Kikuji Saito and Alia Kirsch. Each of these generous Spartans has committed with their philanthropy to restore and develop a distinct aspect of the project. To recognize the generosity of these families and individuals, these spaces will be named in their honor.
Ken Klegon’s support will create a new entry garden flanking the main entrance near the library plaza and construct a new biodiversity pool that will be placed nearby. Both spaces will engage visitors with the breadth and mysteries of plant diversity as they enter, setting the tone for their experience.
Ken Kirsch, a 1981 graduate of the Eli Broad College of Business, held a lifelong love of the natural world that, in retirement, grew into a second calling in landscape design. That love of plants and prairies will be memorialized in the Kirsch Family Pollinator Garden, established through a gift from his daughter, Alia Kirsch. The space will feature native plants to support imperiled native pollinators. It will also create opportunities to translate ongoing pollinator research from scientists at Beal and across campus into practical advice that the community can use to make their home gardens more sustainable.
Saito’s support will help establish the Kikuji Saito Michigan Wetland Garden surrounding the existing pond — one of the existing highlights for visitors that allows an opportunity to experience native wetland plants.
“Plants are living memory keepers,” said Katie Fry, Beal Botanical Garden collections manager. “And when you're in the garden and you see them, it's not just about the species. It's that a specific plant takes you to a memory of love and care.”
Every gift to Beal Botanical Garden is a reflection of someone's love for MSU's campus and its living landscape. There are still many opportunities to help shape the garden's future and preserve Beal Botanical Garden’s place in the heart of campus.
“These transformational gifts do far more than support Beal Botanical Garden,” Prather said. “They help create a more welcoming, inspiring and sustainable campus for everyone who visits. Their impact will be felt not only by today's Spartans, but by generations to come.”
For more information about the new garden land use plan and ways to support, visit https://bealbotanicalgarden.msu.edu/support/land-use-plan.
BealFest
Want to celebrate this news in person? Join Beal Botanical Garden for their annual BealFest from 4 to 7 p.m. Sept. 17. With this year’s theme Wild Harmony, the activities, community and campus partners, music and games will all be inspired by what it takes to have a healthy ecosystem and finding your place in our campus community.
