As Lovely As a Tree: To choose a garden tree, tour an arboretum

摘要

One challenge in choosing a garden tree is visualizing its mature size and shape and its appearance in different seasons. To get a feel for these important details, visit a local arboretum several times over the course of the year. Note favorite treesand their outline in both winter and summer, their size, foliage, flowers and bark. Compare these criteria to your gardens needs, and you should soon find the perfect match. We visited Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum in Cincinnati for a tour of potential garden trees, large and small. The cemetery was intended to serve as an arboretum from its inception in the 1840s. Adolph Strauch assisted members of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society in the design of the landscape. Groups of plants were combined and sited within the topography for aesthetic appeal, set as backdrops to monuments, designed as views or placed to complement pathways and roads. Both native and exotic woody species were included in the design, and the trees and shrubs were evaluatedannually for their value as garden or street trees. Today, Spring Groves horticultural staff continues to test species while maintaining the collection and accenting it with new perennial beds and borders.