This image from construction documents depicts many of the features of the new Sycamore Falls garden in the southwest corner of Reiman Gardens. Submitted image.
Construction resumed this spring on the Sycamore Falls garden in the southwest corner of Reiman Gardens. If work stays on schedule, the garden will be completed by early December.
The design takes advantage of the land's natural slope and features water cascading about 20 feet down a series of limestone walls to a reflecting basin. The stream water will come from a contained system that's turned off during the cold weather months.
At the top of the falls will be a viewing deck to provide a one-of-a-kind angle on all of Reiman Gardens to the north and east, said construction manager John Boehmer, facilities planning and management. Ornamental plants and rocks will flank the falls. Rising more than 40 feet above the deck will be a six-sided, asymmetrical tower structure, built in part with wood from the university's TreeCycle program, which repurposes wood from downed campus trees.
Adjacent to the reflecting pool will be a pergola shade structure and beyond it, a small restroom building. A boardwalk will connect Sycamore Falls to the Town and Country Garden to the northeast. A paved path will ring the water feature.
The garden is named for the seven 80-year-old sycamore trees that form its natural east border. Sycamore Falls is part of the gardens' 2015 master plan. The $3.4 million project is being funded with private gifts, including a $1.7 million lead gift from Roy and Bobbi Reiman, for whom the gardens are named.
This construction image shows the viewing deck and tower base at the top of Sycamore Falls. Numbers 2 and 7 represent water; 6 marks the stream source. Submitted image.
