Real Estate

Need garden inspiration? Check out Arnold Arboretum’s free events.

After the start of the pandemic, and in time for its 150th anniversary, the Boston treasure has made some of its programming free to the public.

In its 152 years, the garden has stayed relevant to the public, its director said. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

May 7, 2024

Do you need gardening inspiration? Some programming at one of Boston’s most beautiful spots is free to the public right now.

After the start of the pandemic, and in time for its 150th anniversary in 2022, the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University in Jamaica Plain made some programming free to the public: including meditations immersed in nature, foraging tours, and a “Botany of Booze” walk in which attendees learn about plants that can produce alcohol. Some programs are still restricted to members.

Previously, the garden charged from roughly $5 to $15 for its programs, said William “Ned” Friedman, the arboretum’s director. After the start of the pandemic, the staff felt it would be better to offer the programs with no cost barriers, he said.

“The arboretum wants to be that place where we build democracy, where we just welcome everyone in, and we do everything humanly possible to say, ‘Come, be in this space,’” Friedman said.

Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted designed the 281-acre arboretum, which was established in 1872 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s part of a collection of free-to-the-public greenspaces the architect designed that link around the city like a necklace.

In its 152 years, the arboretum has stayed relevant to the public, Friedman said, pointing out that it remained open during the pandemic while comparable institutions closed around the world.

“You look back now and you ask yourself: Wasn’t that incredibly important for thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands — as it turns out — millions of people to find a safe place where you could have refuge? You could be with friends, six feet apart, walking? You could continue to sort of have the mental health benefits of getting out of confinement?” he said.

The garden includes eight nationally accredited collections of “generic” plants such as maple and lilac trees, its website said. These are the finest collections of their kind in the world, Friedman said.

“And that’s why we always refer to ourselves as Harvard’s museum of trees,” Friedman said, “because that’s exactly what we are. We’re a museum. it’s just that instead of paintings on the wall, there are trees in the ground.”

***Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University***

The arboretum is also trying to be a role model. For this reason, it’s not mowing meadows underneath solar panels. Mowing this land packed with native plants, Friedman said, is “the worst way you can support insects that happened to call Boston home.”

“So I would say we’re trying to set an example, that I think all of us can do a better job of transitioning to more biodiverse yards, more biodiversity campuses — industrial parks — because that’s a good way to support biodiversity locally,” Friedman said.

Jon Hetman, the arboretum’s associate director of external relations and communications, said the Leventritt Garden and the Bradley Rosaceous Collection are popular with people looking to expand their own gardening palette.

“These two garden areas are really great in that they have a lot of cultivated varieties of plants, a lot of things that are sort of, you know, more interesting or experimental things that we’re trying out,” Hetman said. “And all those plants are labeled.”

People mosey through the arboretum and take inspiration from its plants, Friedman said.

“And it may not be something you can get at Kmart or at Home Depot,” he said “but it’s a plant that’s out there, and you then become mindful of: Well that plant has come all the way from China, but it just makes me feel a certain way, and I’d like to have that plant in my yard.”

They can also take inspiration from the arboretum’s design. Friedman said there’s nothing natural about the garden, where all carriage roads curve and most of the property is designed and graded.

“And if you think hard about your yard, what you’re doing is you’re trying to be playful, and at the same time, you’re trying to have surprise,” Friedman said. “And so you can be inspired by the kinds of things that you personally feel at the Arnold.”

The arboretum, located at 125 Arborway, is open everyday from sunrise to sunset, according to the website. People can register for events on its website.

“The most important message we can get out there is: Come,” Friedman said.