Botanical Backdrop for Generations of College Students Gets a Redesign

By Khloe Quill

Pictured: The old “M.” Photo courtesy of carmichaellibrary on Flickr.

The University of Maryland’s Big “M” is making big changes. Also known as the M Circle, this emblem of school pride and hotspot for grad photos has remained in one spot since it was created in 1976. That is, of course, until plans for the Purple Line demanded the famous floral photo backdrop be moved.

In case you missed it, the Purple Line is a light rail system that will enable travel between Bethesda in Montgomery County to New Carrollton in Prince George’s County, including five stops on or near campus. The addition of this line is expected to shorten that commute, which currently takes two hours by bus, into a 15–20 minute ride.

The Purple Line will also go directly through the University of Maryland’s main campus, and in doing so, cross through the M circle. That’s why the university and those in charge of the Purple Line construction had to come up with a new permanent home for the iconic insignia.

According to sources within Facilities Management, the new M, located just outside the Mitchell Building, falls under the responsibility of the Purple Line until construction of the railway is complete. University landscapers and facilities management can still plant in it, but it would seem the group as whole had little say in the construction of the new M shape itself, which is why those used to seeing the old design may notice some cosmetic differences in the resulting one.

“In an effort to create a bicentennial landmark and eliminate an eyesore, the physical plant is planning to plant red and white petunias in the traffic circle on Campus Drive,” says an archived article of UMD’s newspaper, The Diamondback. The issue, printed in March of 1976, goes into further detail about the iconic “M.” The landscapers at the time called the traffic circle “barren.” They went on to discuss planting a variety of trees, plans that included evergreens, specifically so the traffic circle would stay beautiful even in the cold season.

Although landscapers started off with tulips, a variety of other flowers have graced the inner beds of the M throughout the years. In a Maryland Today article from 2020, the flowers were listed as yellow pansies in the fall and red begonias in the summer. In that same article, UMD horticulturist R. Scott Rupert said lining up the plants so they fill the M-shaped space just right is a “meticulous task.”

The earlier petunia choices were too delicate for the changing weather conditions, so the Facilities Management came up with a sturdy annual flower solution that fell in line with the changing seasons and university color scheme: Pansies are planted in the fall because they can withstand the colder weather and bloom again in the spring. Begonias are planted later in the spring because they can withstand the summer’s heat and humidity.

“It’s an iconic landmark that is the first thing everyone sees coming in through the main entrance,” says University of Maryland graduate John Wink ’88. “Arguably the best choice if you needed a single picture to help an alumni identify the campus. It was always presented well and always well-maintained.”

While the exact amount of flowers was not mentioned in the article from the 1970s, an article from 2017 interviewing one university landscaper said that thousands of blooms were used in each planting cycle: 1,000 pansies and 1,000 begonias per season.

On rare occasions, the Big M has gone completely flower-less. One such incident occurred in 2016, when a fungal infection caused landscapers to opt out of the typical arrangement and instead fill the emblem with red mulch— a fix that lasted the entire school year.

Irrigation lines supply water to the blooms of the old M, and lucky for the maintenance crew, that hasn’t changed. It’s only natural to put that much effort into maintaining a botanical feat that, at times, takes four to five workers and an entire day of work to complete.

The classes of both 1986 and 1987 contributed lights to shine on the M Circle at night. New lights, as well as some uplighting, are now installed around the second M.

A more-recent graduate, Jessica Thwaite ’17, said she’s pleased to hear the Purple Line and M can coexist.

“I guess because Campus Drive was under construction for more than half of the time I went to the university, I’m not super-bothered by the idea of things being moved around. I like the idea of accessibility the Purple Line brings to campus.” While partisan politics may be dividing our nation, it is lucky for all involved that the flowers don’t pay any mind to the slight shift to the left.

About the author:

Khloe Quill is a journalism major at the University of Maryland, College Park, and an intern this semester with Washington Gardener Magazine. She is a native of Frederick, MD.

Published in the February 2021 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine. Subscribe today at http://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/.