M. Victor and Frances Leventritt Garden, Arnold Arboretum, Boston, Massachusetts


Related person
Reed Hilderbrand Associates Inc. (architect)
Date
1872 (Arnold Arboretum founded);1997-2002 (creation of Victor & Frances Leventritt Garden of Shrubs and Vines)
Location
North and Central America->United States->Massachusetts->Suffolk->Boston
Description
The Arnold Arboretum was founded in 1872 in accordance with the will of James Arnold, a whaling merchant from New Bedford, Massachusetts, who transferred a portion of his estate to Harvard College "for the establishment and support of an arboretum..., containing all the trees [and] shrubs...either indigenous or exotic, which can be raised in the open air." Fredrick Law Olmsted laid out the path and roadway system and designated areas within the Arboretum for specific groups of plants. Charles Sprague Sargent (1841-1927) spent 54 years as the Arboretum's first director and was instrumental in shaping the policies and programs of the Arnold Arboretum. The M. Victor and Frances Leventritt Garden (shrub and vine collection) at Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University, was completed in 2002 and will contain up to 300 sun-loving ornamental shrubs and 100 vines. The garden features linear, terraced planting beds retained by walls constructed of New England fieldstone, as well as steel trellises used to support vines. An open-air pavilion provides a place for special events, outdoor classes, and gathering.
Style/Period
2000s (2000 - 2009)
Material
grasses
coniferous shrubs
coniferous trees
deciduous trees
crushed stone
vines
fieldstone
steel