Exhibits
Guided Tours
Plan Your Visit
How do you tell the difference between a fir and a spruce? What about a pitch pine and an Eastern white pine? Join herbalist Alex Klein for a tree identification class focused entirely on conifers, so that you can start ID’ing these fascinating trees in Massachusetts streets and forests.
The Arboretum landscape doesn’t go to sleep in the winter: in fact winter is the best time to see the bright stems of red twig twig dogwood, the glossy leaves of fragrant daphne, and the feathery needles of plum yew. Join Director of Horticulture and Landscape Rodney Eason for a walk to explore the shrubs with winter interest in the landscape. Learn about a variety of shrubs in the Arboretum’s collections, how to maintain these shrubs in your own yard, and what to expect from them in various seasons throughout the year.
Get a new perspective on some of the amazing trees on Peters Hill during this one-hour seasonal tour. In winter, leaves and blossoms fall away, exposing hidden features like bark, thorns, and roots. During this one-hour tour led by docent Paul Eldrenkamp, you’ll get a chance to explore a few of the interesting collections in the landscape, learn about the history of this part of the Arboretum, and get a winter time view of the Boston skyline from the second highest point in the city.
Join us for a talk by popular Mushroom Hunt instructor Maria Pinto on her new book, Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless: What Fungi Taught Me about Nourishment, Poison, Ecology, Hidden Histories, Zombies, and Black Survival. Maria weaves together memoir, mycology, and cultural history to illuminate the deep and surprising ways fungi connect with human life. With vivid storytelling and a fiercely original voice, she explores fungi not just as biological wonders but as tools of survival, subversion, and spiritual sustenance—especially for those living at the margins.
Take a brisk walk this winter and stay healthy and connected to the Arboretum at a time when the landscape is pared down to its beautiful bones. This 90-minute walk is similar to a guided tour, but with a slightly faster pace and fewer stops, to keep your feet warm and your blood pumping!
Docent Katrina Scott will lead this interactive tour with stops for moments to reflect on specific trees and the stories associated with them. Were they revered or feared? A home for deities or tricksters? We will begin at the Walter Street Gate to visit the oldest ginkgoes at the Arboretum, then head up the Conifer Path and diverge to walk, rest, and reflect among various conifers, eventually ending by the yews near Bussey Brook and Hemlock Hill Road.
Winter can feel like one of the hardest times to identify trees, with most of their characteristic leaves and flowers gone for the season. But with help from experienced horticulturist and plant science teacher Nicole Forsyth, you can start identifying common winter trees from the woods and streets of Massachusetts based only on their bark, buds, twigs, and persistent fruit. This class will begin indoors with a presentation in the lecture hall, and then move outside for some identification practice in the landscape.
Paying close attention to the plants around us can ease stress and create moments of joy and wonder, whether we’re walking through the woods, down the street, or just getting up close with our own houseplants. Let’s Botanize: 101 Ways to Connect with Plants is full of prompts and beautiful macrophotography that encourage readers to get outside and observe plants in close detail. Join authors Ben Goulet-Scott and Jacob Suissa, both former Arboretum researchers, for a book launch consisting of a talk, book signings, and an optional walk in the landscape to try some of these prompts out for ourselves.
Get a new perspective on some of the amazing trees on Peters Hill during this one-hour seasonal tour. In winter, leaves and blossoms fall away, exposing hidden features like bark, thorns, and roots. During this one-hour tour led by docent Paul Eldrenkamp, you’ll get a chance to explore a few of the interesting collections in the landscape, learn about the history of this part of the Arboretum, and get a winter time view of the Boston skyline from the second highest point in the city.
Take a brisk walk this winter and stay healthy and connected to the Arboretum at a time when the landscape is pared down to its beautiful bones. This 90-minute walk is similar to a guided tour, but with a slightly faster pace and fewer stops, to keep your feet warm and your blood pumping!