Kirby Smith Orchard Being Restored

Saplings grafted from trees originally planted in the 19th century were planted on the Sewanee campus on Tuesday, Oct. 23.

Former Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith came to teach at the University of the South in 1875. He was a professor of mathematics, a subject he had earlier taught at West Point; he also taught botany. While at Sewanee, Kirby Smith began an apple and pear orchard, of which only two living trees remain.

Over the past three years Martin Knoll, professor of forestry and geology at Sewanee, has worked with local horticulturist Alex Neubauer (center) of Hidden Hollow Nursery, to graft shoots from the remaining trees and produce saplings that are clones of the original. The Friends of Abbo’s Alley planted several apple and pear saplings on the site of the old orchard in Abbo’s Alley behind Johnson Hall. This is the hillside filled with daffodils each year during the early spring; the tree planting should have no effect on the flowers. The specific type of apple will remain unknown until the trees bear fruit.

Abbo’s Alley is a ravine garden on the Sewanee campus. The name honors Abbott Cotton Martin, a professor of English at Sewanee for more than 40 years and a self-taught gardener who adopted the ravine, probably during the 1930s. The Friends of Abbo’s Alley is a group of community volunteers who have provided equipment, supplies and labor to maintain the garden.