The branching oaks of The Wash and grassy wonder of Marston Quad may get more attention, but the pittosporum hedge on College Avenue is a big part of campus. Photo by Carrie Rosema.
Before students return to school each school year, Grounds Manager Ronald Nemo and his crew turn their trimmers on Pomona’s green behemoth, the massive pittosporum hedge that runs for blocks – in total, perhaps 3,000 feet – along both sides of College Avenue. The wall of green was planted decades ago for a practical purpose: to help discourage pedestrians from darting across the avenue outside the crosswalks, according to Nemo. As much as it is an omnipresent barrier, 15 feet wide at some points, the College Avenue hedge is also easily overlooked. That’s by design. Donning vests, gloves and protective goggles, Nemo’s 14-person crew goes at it with handheld power trimmers until the hedge’s new ‘doo is a close-cropped crew-cut reaching only about three feet high, allowing clear views of the street and campus, while still serving as a big green buffer. The pittosporum also gets a clean-up before Alumni Weekend and Commencement.
