Public Horticulture

The Franklin Park Conservatory was originally built in 1895 in Columbus, Ohio by the Franklin County Agriculture Society. The original conservatory was influenced by Chicago’s World Fair and Columbian Exposition and built to match their victorian style. The original glass structure, known as the palm house, is currently on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1992 Franklin Park Conservatory was the host site for the Ameriflora horticultural exhibition. Improvements and additions were made to the original glass house to prepare for this event, and two new conservatories totaling 58,000 square feet were built in 1989 to expand the space for plant collections.Today the conservatories contain indoor collections of Himalayan, Rainforest, Desert and South Pacific ecosystems. The indoor plant collections are supplemented with numerous outdoor display gardens. There is a multitude of specialized plant collections, herbaceous beds, and formal parterre beds in the park surrounding the conservatory. The conservatory is host to seasonal exhibitions such as Blooms and Butterflies, a collection of thousands of tropical butterflies within the South Pacific artificial ecosystem. The conservatory is also home to a permanent Chihuly ornamental glass collection. World renowned artist and glass blower Dale Chihuly commissioned a number of permanent pieces, valued near $7 million US,  specifically for Franklin Park Conservatory. His design and placement of the glass pieces is flawless and perfectly complementary to the plant collections.

Franklin Park Conservatory charges $7.50 for adult admission as well as offering a variety of educational events, volunteer activities and social event planning. The park surrounding the conservatory is free to the public and contains nearly 90 acres of urban botanic gardens, water features and recreation amenities. The conservatory offers education programs in urban and community gardening, lectures on popular ornamental plant species, and activites that coincide with their seasonal exhibitions. The conservatory is open Tuesday - Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm and is located on East Broad Street two miles from downtown Columbus, Ohio.

Dawes Arboretum was established by Beman Dawes because he wanted people to have the opportunity to learn about the importance and beauty of trees. The arboretum was founded in 1929 and now is made up of over 1700 acres of plant collections, gardens and natural areas.

These plant collections and gardens are made up of 15,000 plants and 4500 of which are unique names. Specific records are kept, including dates, locations, origin and age, for all the plants in the arboretum. The collections are bases on a variety of themes from Japanese gardens to conifer collections to the oak and holly hills. The property also includes the original Dawes house, the Dawes Lake, hiking trails and a log cabin in the deep woods.

There are several different events that Dawes host during the year too. During the months of February thru March they are tapping maple trees for syrup and that can be seen now. They host an arbor day as well as a plant sale and auction to produce some funds for the arboretum. The arboretum has a propagation greenhouse where they create new varieties and with the extra they will sell to the members and others who show up. Dawes also hosts a bonsai show where they give free demonstrations. Dawes’ bonsai collection consists of over one hundred plants for your viewing.

Lastly there are many bald cypress trees around the wetter areas of the arboretum and this is an amazing feature to see with all the knees that the trees produce. No matter what time of the year you go there will be something to see with the conifer collections in the winter and the Japanese gardens in the summer.

Visit Dawes Arboretum online.

Review by Aaron Tournoux

The Holden Arboretum, located in Kirtland, Ohio, is a well recognized arboretum that connects extremely well with the residents of greater Cleveland, Ohio. The arboretum’s slogan, “Connect, Learn and Conserve,” conveys their mission well. The arboretum has a reputable plant inventory consisting of a ornamental hedge , lilac, viburnum, crabapple, rhododenron, and other woody ornamentals collections. Yet alongside their plant collections are numerous natural conservation areas that are being managed for natural ecological preservation. These areas are becoming more important to the arboretum as they seek to connect with their community in new ways. As people become more aware of the global climate and ecological change, they also seek renewed interest in natural plant conservation. Holden is meeting this shift in conscience with their mission statement. Holden offers classes and lectures revolving around natural plant communities of Northeast Ohio and conservation issues. They also offer more conventional educational and recreational events such as tree identification and night hiking. Holden is employing new initiatives in horticultural therapy and traditional internship programs simultaneously, which is enabling the institution to increase its impact on a greater portion of the community.

For more information please visit the Holden Arboretum website.

Submitted by Dan Burcham

The Public Garden, established in 1837, was the first public botanical garden in the United States. Today the park forms a green and flowering retreat in the middle of a grey and noisy city. No visit to Boston, MA. would be complete without a walk in the Garden.
Its 24 acres, developed over marsh land, is the design of George V. Meacham. He was the winner of a public competition and he received an award of one hundred dollars. Through the years, changes to accommodate the increasing traffic and of new plant material have been made with the original design always in mind. The flower beds give beautiful color from early April until the end of October, and the thousands of plants grown in the city greenhouses allow for an ever changing display. In 1859 the Public Garden was preserved forever as an open space for the public by an act of Massechusitts legislature.

Awards in Public Gardens

The Horticulture Magazine Award for Garden Excellence is handed out annually by the APGA (American Public Gardens Association). The award was started in 2003, and handed out to the public garden that displayed the highest standards of horticultural practices. One of the neatest aspects is that the public garden to be the recipient of the award is chosen by its peers.

In order to receive this award the public garden has to have shown commitment to demonstrating and supporting the best gardening practices. Other criteria include maintenance of commitment to plant collections, demonstrating commitment to the national or regional community of horticulture. Gardening practices that are fitting to a local or regional environment, also in this category they have to echo environmentally informed horticulture. The public garden has to use innovative horticultural practices to encourage students of gardening, and have a display that is the best designed and most outstanding horticultural. Olbrich Botanical Gardens of Madison, Wisconsin was the last recipient of this award, prior to was Missouri Botanical Garden and Ganna Walska Lotusland.

Story by Kelton Spence

There are numerous opportunities for internships and full time employment at many institutions of public horticulture in the United States. Graduates looking for openings should recognize the tremendous variety of public gardens that exist in all places. Each establishment is a unique individual with varying mission statements, visions, and budgetary resources. There are gardens with a large emphasis on public education and very small research-centered arboreta; the differences and personalized experiences at each garden is something to be understood and valued. If you are interested in people-plant relationships, woody and herbaceous plant selection, integrated pest management, or public education, there are unlimited engaging opportunities available at botanic gardens and arboreta everywhere.

A good place to begin in a search for employment at institutions of public horticulture is the Career Center section of the American Public Gardens Association’s website. There you can search separately for internships and employment openings at gardens all over the country. Regardless of your educational interest of experience, there is an opportunity for you to continue your professional development at a public garden. Another beneficial action would be to join the American Public Gardens Association to network with others interested in the same issues. A membership also allows you to remain informed on developing issues within the field of public horticulture. APGA publications are a great way to remain informed about budgetary, visitor or other relevant issues. With such variability and diversity among the institutions you are sure to find a perfect match in a public garden.

Submitted by Dan Burcham

Trains are simply another popular theme for a garden or landscape used by individuals or professionals. There are famous train gardens across the United Stated ranging from Vermont to Illinois and all the way to Louisiana and Wisconsin. Train gardens are so popular that people have formed clubs and organizations such as the Washington, Virginia and Maryland Garden Railway Society.

When adding building to construct your villages you must first think about the weather they are going to need to withstand. The type of train you used or select should be based on the weather you have as well. Most commonly used are electric powered, but some people go as far as steam powered and digital audio powered. Steam powered train can use clean burning butane gas or sterno-type fuel. The digital audio trains can include natural sound to make it seem as if the is a real train running through you garden. Trains can come in several sizes as well, but most common is the 1/32 scale.

Train gardens can include geographical features, dwarf plants and individual villages made up of small houses and buildings. When designing these types of gardens you must remember that much time and maintenance is required. Plants are always in need of pruning and other regular maintenance.

The geographical features may include ponds, boulders and mountains with tunnels running through them. Ponds may become complicated with different levels with streams that require bridges for the train to cross. Rocks use for boulders can create a natural feeling resembling mountains in the west.

So if this is has any interest to you remember all you need to start is a small area in your backyard, a train and a few pieces of track. With time you can add plants, rocks, water and tunnels or bridges. Most public horticultural facilities have train gardens within their displays and if you want ideas for your new train garden I would suggest you make a visit. There are many train shows that exist throughout the United States as well. I wish you the best of luck with your next project and feel free to call a professional for additional help.

Story by Aaron Tournoux

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