gardens-to-visit.com: Bartlett Arboretum and Gardens

The Bartlett Arboretum and Gardens contains 91 acres (37 hectares) of parkland, gardens, and landscapes that focus on the regional plants, ecology and character of Southwestern New England. The Arboretum is open and accessible to the public every day of the year. It is located at 151 Brookdale Road in Stamford, Connecticut, USA.

The Arboretum started in 1913, when Dr. Francis A. Bartlett, an eminent dendrologist and founder of the F.A. Bartlett Tree Expert Company, acquired "30 acres [12 hectares] more or less" of North Stamford woodland to use as his residence, training school and research laboratory for his company. Over the years he assembled a large number of plant specimens on the property from all over the world. In 1965, when the research laboratory moved to North Carolina, the Stamford site, then covering more than 60 acres (24 hectares), was purchased by the State of Connecticut and designated the Connecticut State Arboretum. In 1993, the land and overall operation of the Arboretum were transferred to the University of Connecticut at Stamford. In 2001, the land was transferred to the City of Stamford and operations were transferred to the Bartlett Arboretum Association an independent non-profit organization. The Bartlett Arboretum Association continues to operate the grounds today.

In January 2007, the Arboretum started offering a landscaping class for Spanish-speaking landscapers. Although taught in English, key words and expressions are translated into Spanish. The landscapers are taught subjects such as proper planting, mulching and pruning, and safety rules, and they receive a certificate at the end of the course.

In 2006 the Arboretum began numerous research programs, continuing the tradition of research begun by Dr. Bartlett nearly a century earlier. Current research focuses on local plant ecology such as floristics and herbivory responses of Connecticut Forests, and the ecology and evolution of tropical plants, particularly the Araceae. This work has led to several published research papers by staff in the past few years.

The Herbarium of the Bartlett Arboretum, open to the public Monday - Thursday and by appointment, is a rapidly expanding collection of over 3500 specimens. The Arboretum plans a doubling of this collection by 2009. While most specimens are from the Northeastern United States, the collection also houses material from the Southeastern Unites States and Adjacent Mexico (200), the Caribbean (100), Amazonian Peru (150), the former Soviet Union (200),and Africa (100). This collection includes approximately 2,500 species of vascular plants, and 1,000 species of Bryophyte. The collection currently houses one type specimen.