Grass grew wild. Weeds sprouted as tall as people. Walking paths were carpeted with twigs and leaves. Rare species of plants and trees were threatened.

That’s what happens when a 26-acre botanical garden goes virtually unattended for months during a pandemic.

Situated on the north side of the Cal State Fullerton campus, the Fullerton Arboretum is home to a scientifically significant plant collection, arboretum director Greg Dyment said.

The arboretum’s horticulturists and volunteers care for roughly 4,000 different species of plants and trees from around the world. Among the collection are examples from Mediterranean and desert climates and woodlands. There is even a Bodhi tree blessed by the Dalai Lama when he visited the university in June 2000.

When the arrival of the coronavirus forced the Cal State Fullerton campus to cease operations nearly a year ago, the arboretum had to send home its staff of horticulturists and volunteers.

“This place just got overgrown,” Dyment said. “You couldn’t go down pathways and roads, so we needed to do something. We were in a position, against our will, where we were suffering.”

The arboretum is self-sustaining through memberships and plant sales and by renting the gardens out for weddings and events. Staff members had to be furloughed.

Then the arboretum was contacted by the Mysun Charitable Foundation, a nonprofit which funds projects relating to plant and land conservation.

The foundation has supported other projects at the arboretum in the past, Dyment said.

Mysun promised a grant, matching whatever amount of money the arboretum could raise on its own.

And when the arboretum raised $100,000, Mysun made good on its promise by giving an additional $100,000.

The funding was enough to bring the horticultural staff back full time, Dyment said. Horticulture students and volunteers have also been able to return with strict safety protocols and screening, he added.

“We were on furlough and I remember the first day we came back … and just walking along the pathways and said ‘Oh my gosh.’ Weeds were as tall as our heads,” horticulturist Anna Baier said. “It was overwhelming, just the amount of work that we knew was going to need to be done.”

Heavy rain drenched the arboretum grounds shortly after they closed and weeds sprang up more prolifically than usual.

“They went to seed because we weren’t removing them,” Baier said. “So now there are extra seeds in the seed bank, which is in the soil, and we’re going to get so many weeds this year.”

But progress is being made.

The arboretum farm, which had been blanketed with weeds and dead vegetables is nearly to the point where seeds can be planted again, Dyment said.

The orchard, where apples, peaches, plums and apricots grow, is also back in shape.

“We’re going to have a good crop this year and we hope it will be open and we’ll be ready to sell it,” Dyment said.

The space where the community garden once grew, will soon become a sunflower field and shown during National Public Gardens Week in May.

The annual Veggiepalooza, a hugely popular vegetable sale held each spring, is scheduled to take place online from March 20 to April 2.

“People who want vegetables will be able to get them,” Dyment said.

No opening date for the arboretum has been announced. That will be determined by the university administration.

“Things are changing daily, but the university is resolute in approaching the opening of the campus and related facilities within the dual purpose of a commitment to student learning and ensuring the health and safety of all Titans,” university spokesman Chi-Chung Keung said in an email. “Additionally, CSUF is working closely with health and safety experts to provide members of our community with the latest information and guidance on any future plans.”

Dyment said there is enough funding to keep the arboretum maintained through at least late September.

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