The Goff Family invites you to sit on a branch of their family tree at the D.C. Smith Greenhouse. The Goffs were on campus this summer to present the Department of Horticulture with a spectacular bench crafted from a fallen portion of a historic larch named after their forebear, Emmett S. Goff, the UW’s first professor of horticulture and one of CALS’ original faculty members. The wood had been salvaged when the world famous  Goff Larch lost a major limb during a winter storm in 2007.

With the Goffs’ generous financial support, Madison artist Aaron Laux built the bench, using the living portion of the tree as inspiration for the design. The bench was unveiled at the Department of Horticulture’s annual garden party, which was also a celebration of the department’s 125th anniversary, held in Allen Centennial Gardens, where the surviving portion of the Goff Larch still grows.