| We went by metro to visit the 265 acre Arnold Arboretum which
is just to the south west of Boston. It is owned and managed by Harvard
University and the Boston Parks Dept and is on a par with Kew Gardens for its research work on the
cultivation of trees. Amazingly, it is free to the general public.
We started in the Hunnewell visitor centre where there
is a model of the park which has 4500 different types of tree in different
areas. |  |
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Each of the trees has one or more labels which tell you what it is. Black oaks
are common in this part of the US. |
| This is a burl oak with characteristic swirls in its
bark. The wood has similar patterns and is much prized by wood turners and
furniture makers. |  |
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This is a more common credit card sized label. You would need to look in
their records for more detail. |
| There are some bushes as well as the trees. This is
in the Leventritt shrub garden which covers four acres and
showcases over 500 shrubs and 100 vines of outstanding horticultural
interest and conservation value. This is a hydrangea paniculata 'Rose Lamb'
and is one of a series of bushes which could be bought at the garden
centre. It will grow to 4-6 ft and came originally from Belgium. |  |
 | Some are grown for their foliage rather than their
flowers. We had a willow similar to this in our garden but I'm not sure what
this is. |
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Not all bushes are grown for their foliage or flowers. This one is noted for
its berries. |  |
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There is a small bonsai lath house which is kept locked to protect the more
than 30 valuable plants. Some of these are over 100 years old. The large
Hinoki Cypresses were imported from Japan in 1913. They have been in the US
longer than any other bonsai. |
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There are trees of all shapes and sizes which one can wander round freely.
In some areas there is quite a variety of shades of green and leaf types. |
| There was some colour. We missed many of the most
colourful areas such as the lilacs, azaleas and rhododendrons. We will just
have to return at a different time of year. |  |
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Another scenic corner with a variety of trees and colours. |
| In some areas the ground cover has been left to its
natural state whereas in others it is beautifully manicured. There must be a
lot of work to keep this place in the fine condition it is in. |  |
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The day was very hot or we might have spent longer determining what each of
the trees was. But 265 acres takes some covering and we were tiring in the
heat despite the shade of the trees. You could spend weeks here, and if we
lived in Boston, we probably would. |
| This is a Chinese tree called the 'Tree of Heaven'. It
is a member of the quassia family. |  |
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This is one of several huge willows planted in a relatively boggy area,
hence all the tall green ground cover luxuriating with their waterlogged
roots. |
| The maples were just beginning to turn heralding the
start of the fall and the colours for which New England is renowned. |  |
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In amongst the maples we found this paperbark maple with its characteristic
papery bark. |
| It is actually a very large tree towering up into the
sky unlike many of the maples which are much smaller. There are 130
different kinds of maple in the park. |  |
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There is a big rose garden but there were only a handful of very late
representatives of the species remaining in flower. However it would be very
attractive earlier in the season. |
| On the walk back to the adjacent metro station to
return home to our friends, we passed a couple of houses like this one.
Although of wooden construction note the curved frontages on either side.
That is something we have not seen elsewhere. |  |
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