Experience the Arnold Arboretum’s world-class living collections from Director Ned Friedman’s perspective. Take this tour online or while visiting the Arboretum in person.
This half-mile Introductory Tour features stories about the Arboretum’s history, mission, and research endeavors. If you’re at the Arboretum, click here to take a version of this tour with Expeditions, our mobile web app.
Walk with Landscape Architect Rosetta S. Elkin and Arboretum Archivist Lisa E. Pearson.
Walk with Landscape Architect Rosetta S. Elkin and Arboretum Archivist Lisa E. Pearson.
This Colorado blue spruce, collected in 1874, shows a clear connection between the Arnold Arboretum and Asa Gray, a celebrated Harvard botanist. The tree is among the oldest plants of known wild origin growing at the Arnold Arboretum.
A remarkable and rare species native to central China, this maple is most known for its striking copper-colored papery bark. Plant collector Ernest Henry Wilson introduced it to North America in 1907. The Arboretum is home to some of the oldest paperbark maples outside of China.
What’s not to love? The ever-changing landscape and the opportunity to learn new things every day from passionate and caring people are the two most extraordinary aspects of the Arboretum.
I view myself as an explorer of questions that remain unanswered or poorly understood, striving to help understand the natural world. The Arnold Arboretum showcases the beauty of nature and offers world-class research facilities to explore the source of the biodiversity on display. It’s much more than a beautiful place to walk—it’s a place for everyone and a valuable natural resource in the city.
The Arboretum holds 16,000 plants but there is also cutting edge research, children’s outdoor education training, art exhibits and installations, interns learning about horticulture, plant collecting trips, international exchanges, and much more. In short, the Arboretum is more than meets the eye: the more you look, the more you see.
Any walk or bike ride through the landscape is physically and spiritually restorative, all year round. I love teaching horticultural interns and students about our archives, Harvard’s shared online resources, and the importance of diversity and equal opportunities in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics).
The Arboretum makes connections between people and trees, which is so important in an urban environment. I have the privilege of climbing and working directly with these trees. I love being part of this community and helping to maintain this beautiful collection.
Every tour brings a surprise, even after 36 years! It might be the sun catching the “Ruby Glow” witch hazel in February or the smell of toasted marshmallows from trodden katsura leaves in the fall. A squirrel running up a visitor’s trouser leg was perhaps the biggest surprise of them all.
I love the work I do, benefiting the scientific community and the public in so many ways with the plants and data we share. The Arboretum is always striving to improve the way we share our knowledge to make the world a better place. From the very beginning our founders understood the value of documentation. Each plant we grow has incredible value, and every piece of data we attach increases that value. In essence, the Arboretum is living laboratory of plants with many stories yet to be told and be inspired by.
This Place nourishes the Soul as well as the Body. I returned for my health and rediscovered such beauty openly observed and freely given by all who crossed my path. This Palace of the Senses allowed me to create The Path Taken. Maybe my Exhibit can serve as a remainder of days passed, soon to return.
