Page ·arno ~a 2 Restoring the Harvard Yard Landscape Michael Van Valkenburgh and Peter Volume 54 Number 1 1994 Del Tredici 122 The Care and Feeding of the Noble Allee Arnoldia (ISBN 004-2633; USPS 866-100) is Marc Treib published quarterly by the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. Second-class postage paid at 24 "A Most Dangerous Tree": The Lombardy Boston, Massachusetts. Poplar in Landscape Gardening Christina D. Wood Subscriptions are $20.00 per calendar year domestic, $25.00 foreign, payable m advance. Single copies are 311 Punctuating the Skyline: Alternatives to $5.00. All remittances must be m U.S. dollars, by the Lombardy Poplar check drawn on a U.S. bank, or by international Karen Madsen money order. Send orders, remittances, change-of- address notices, and all other subscription-related 35 In Memoriam: Jennifer Reimer Quigley communications to: Circulation Manager, Amoldia, S. A. Spongberg The Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130-3519. Telephone 617/524-1718 36 Arnold Arboretum Weather Station Data

Postmaster: Send address to: changes Cover: Lombardy poplars (Populus nigra ’Itahca’/ at Arnoldia, Circulation Manager Sceaux, France. Photograph by Marc Treib. The Arnold Arboretum 125 Arborway Inside front cover: Newly planted trees m the Jamaica Plam, MA 02130-3519 Tercentenary Theater of Harvard Yard. Photograph by Karen Madsen. Karen Madsen, Editor Inside back cover: Lombardy poplars m Chile. From Editonal Committee the Archives of the Arnold Arboretum. Phyllis Andersen Robert E. Cook Peter Del Tredici Gary Koller

Richard Schulhof . ,~ ’

Stephen A. Spongberg ,

Aznoldia is set m Trump Mediaeval typeface and printed by the Office of the University Pubhsher, Harvard University. Copynght © 1994. The President and Fellows of Harvard College Populus nigra ’Itahca’ 2

The next generation of trees for Harvard Yard (Peter Del Tredici). Restoring the Harvard Yard Landscape

{... , Michael Van Valkenburgh and Peter Del Tredici

The spirit of Harvard Yard resides in its canopy of trees, tall, reaching groves that define spaces and passageways and create an evocative sense of place.

Simplicity and understatement are the prevail- Despite the continual buzz of chainsaws in ing qualities of Harvard Yard’s landscape, the the Yard over the past two decades, few new result of a New England aesthetic that might trees have been planted. As a result, Harvard also be termed frugal elegance. It is an almost now needs to make up for lost time. Almost completely built artifice that has evolved over two hundred trees at semi-mature sizes must more than three centuries of intervention and be planted throughout the larger Harvard Yard transformation. As a composition, the land- area to recreate the presence of the grove. Be- scape and the buildings within Harvard Yard cause trees grow slowly, the need to replant are inseparable. Yet it is the landscape-a the Yard’s canopy has become urgent. In 19911 simple order composed of a continuous ground the University undertook a study of the series plane of grass crossed with paths-that has re- of large and small spaces that constitute tained the more enduring, timeless character. Harvard Yard, broadly defined as the Old Yard, The lawn establishes a base on which a broad the Tercentenary Theater, Seaver Quad, the range of building types in various styles are Science Center Overpass and Memorial Hall, sited. Overhead a high canopy of deciduous Quincy and Prescott Streets. As a first step, an trees completes this majestic landscape. Com- ad hoc tree committee was convened. * The bined, the lawn and the canopy unify the product of this group’s effort, a list of trees spaces of the Yard and engender a unique sense suitable for Harvard Yard, can be seen below. of place. Sixty-eight trees have been planted this spring. The maturity of the tree canopy and the im- Another six will be added this fall and two minent loss of most of the American elms more next spring. have become pressing concerns. A nearly cata- The New Tree strophic number of trees were felled during the Canopy last two decades. Many of these were elms that The predominating American elms (Ulmus were infected with the Dutch elm disease, but americana) have imprinted themselves on all many others succumbed to stresses common who are familiar with the Yard. As a species, to the urban landscape: soil compaction, root the elm is fast growing, readily available, easy damage effected during construction projects, to transplant in large sizes; and highly tolerant salt used for ice melting, and fluctuations in of compacted soils. Its natural form provides a the water table. Still other trees were lost due tall, high-branched canopy. Understandably, it to damage in the snow and ice storms of the was a favorite of our predecessors, but its fate late 1970s and early 1980s. strongly suggests that replanting not be domi-

* Bernard Keohan, Robert Lyng, Robert Mortimer, Peter Del Tredici, Michael Van Valkenburgh, and Tim Barner. 4

nated by a single species of trees, which might the larger cuts resulting from the removal of again leave the Yard vulnerable to the devas- more mature branches require more time to tating effect of insects and diseases. All re- heal. Over the next twenty years, additional placements must be well suited to stressful branches will be removed gradually as each urban growing conditions, and in the interests tree increases in height. of a unified composition, trees with odd col- The recommended transplant size for new ored bark, flowers, or leaves should be ex- trees in Harvard Yard is five or six inches in cluded since they would not blend with other diameter at six inches above the ground; this is species. typically a tree about twenty to twenty-eight To recreate a canopy reminiscent of the feet tall. Re-training the form of the trees re- character of the American elms-to retain not quires careful selection of specimens with good only their memorable quality but also unim- structural development and a strong central peded views across the Yard-each of the main leader, rather than trees with several leaders. spaces should be planted with a careful blend Many of the species on the tree committee’s of two, three, or four tree species. In combin- list, including the Japanese pagoda tree ing trees the visual character of each species in (Sophora japonica) and red oak (Quercus - every season of the year must be considered: rubra), lend themselves, with attentive main- the overall form and color when the tree loses tenance, to a high-branched and elmlike form its leaves in the autumn; leaf color in spring, even though their natural character, when summer, and fall; any significant flowers or grown in an open location, is a low-branched fruit. The committee left open the possibility and rounded form. A lightly shaded growing that occasionally an additional, single species environment where there is competition for may be added, or preserved, if it is an existing sunlight alters the growth habit of a tree and tree in good health. For example, the few re- yields a reaching elmlike character. New trees, maining white pines (Pinus strobus) should if carefully located in the light shade of other remain as effective counterpoints to the new trees in the Yard, are encouraged to grow taller canopy. Indeed, a new white pine will be as they reach for the sunlight above. New trees planted this fall, along with a catalpa (Catalpa have not been planted directly under existing speciosa) and a horse chestnut (Aesculus trees, but rather outside their drip line. hippocastanum), not so much for canopy re- Within Harvard Yard there are numerous placement but to help reinforce the existing microclimates that affect tree growth. In se- specimens of the same species. lecting species, the nuances of each planting In replicating the character of the American site have been carefully considered, with elm grove, which retained few branches below particular attention to soil type, drainage, twenty feet above ground level, it must be re- wind, available sunlight and shade, soil mois- membered that once a tree grows a branch, the ture content created by variable drainage height of that branch does not change with conditions, density of traffic, and extent of later growth. For this reason, high-branched pavement coverage, which increases soil tem- specimens have been planted from the incep- peratures in the root zone in summer. Also tion of the Yard’s new grove. Trees grown with considered was the proximity of new trees to lower branches removed to six or seven feet existing large trees, which create root compe- above ground constitutes the minimum stan- tition and shade that affect their development. dard for transplanting into Harvard Yard. At The tree committee recommended that all the time of planting, additional low branches trees in poor condition be removed between have been removed to a height of eight or nine 1993 and 1994. Trees rated in fair condition feet above ground level. Branches should al- may have several years of life remaining and ways be removed when they are quite small, as will not be removed-except for design rea- 5

Newly planted canopy trees in the Old Yard (Karen Madsen).). sons-until they decline further. In some in- with trees, establishes an aura of calm power. stances trees in fair condition remain on our The spirit of the Old Yard is largely attribut- plan; these are especially venerable trees that, able to its enveloping canopy of majestic de- with special care and attention, may survive ciduous trees, which create an embracing for many years. grove. While this grove has been dominated by the American elm for most of the twentieth Old Yard century, other species have been included to To many, the Old Yard is Harvard Yard. It is produce a more complex composition. The the largest and oldest space, with generous pro- form of these other trees, most notably red oak portions and a commanding presence. Its pe- and honey locust, has been managed to make rimeter of enclosing buildings, which define them more elmlike in character. Branches the sides of the space, is perceptively simple have been removed for the first eighteen to but spatially sophisticated. Through time the twenty feet of each tree. placement of buildings has foiled what other- In the Old Yard, we have planted a mix of wise would be an unrelenting length spanning honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos), Japanese the two long sides of the Yard (750 feet), yielding pagoda tree (Sophora japonica), red oak (Quer- instead stepped and ambiguous alignments. In cus rubra), scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea), and contrast, the short ends of the Old Yard (250 willow oak (Quercus phellos). The trees have feet) are completed with single buildings. The been planted in four existing north-south rows stepped sides coupled with the stolid ends cre- with spacing irregular within the rows. A fifth ate an impressive volume that, when filled row has been re-established in front of the west 6

The tree canopy in the Tercentenary Theater is reinforced with new plantings installed by Hartney/Greymont, Inc., of Needham, MA (Karen Madsen). side of Thayer and Weld Halls. Red oaks were Library and Memorial Church and the com- used in front of Thayer and scarlet oaks in manding nature of their broad bands of stairs front of Weld. create a space that has became the symbolic Two rows of tulip poplar trees (Liriodendron center of the Yard. It is its geographic center tulipifera) form an allee to frame the statue of as well and is the most important ceremonial John Harvard. These rows start at the Johnston space on campus, where people from the en- Gate and are embedded in the existing grove tire university gather for graduation and other of the Old Yard. Hackberries (Celtis x ’Mag- celebratory events. nifica’) have been planted west of the Johnston The character of the grove of trees planted in Gate, at the site opened up by the removal of the rectangular space further compliments the the existing yews at the gate. These two trees, ceremonial quality of the Tercentenary The- with their elmlike shape, take the place of two ater. In contrast to the darker oaks and maples downed elms. at the periphery of the space, honey locusts (Gleditsia triacanthos), with their fine tex- Theater Tercentenary tured foliage, allow dappled light to permeate The Tercentenary Theater is the heart of Har- the center ground of the space and to form a vard Yard and one of the major time-honored halo of light in the middle. Additional honey landscape spaces. The enclosure of the Tercen- locust trees have been planted to supplement tenary Theater was completed by Memorial the existing ones. Red maples (Acer rubrum) Church in the 1930s. The symmetry of Widener have been planted as a rectangular perimeter 7

around the irregular placement of the honey and quality of specimens available from nurs- locusts. This patterning will not be apparent eries. Tree species suitable for the periphery of until the autumn when the yellows of the the Yard are presented in Part II. honey locusts will be framed by the spectacu- lar scarlet foliage of the red maples. Yellow- PART I: CANOPY TREES woods which bloom at (Cladrastis kentuckea), Acer rubrum (Red Maple) commencement time, have been planted ir- This midsized tree produces great spring and regularly at the periphery of the space. Three fall color and is tolerant of soil con- Kentucky coffee trees (Gymnocladus dioicus) compacted ditions. Red maple will perform well in the and two bur oaks (Quercus macrocarpa) were Yard and will add interest in the fall, a feature planted on the lawn west and north of Widener that is currently lacking. Library. The three legumes share a characteris- tic flat-topped crown, and although clearly dis- Acer saccharum* (Sugar Maple) tinct from one another, have similar enough This tree has beautiful fall color but is intoler- forms to create a sense of harmony. It is essen- ant of compacted soil and road salt. It has a tial that all trees planted in the Tercentenary roundheaded crown and casts a dense shade. In Theater be limbed up from the bottom as they the Yard it will need to be carefully sited away grow, to allow unobstructed views throughout from areas with heavy pedestrian or vehicular the landscape. traffic. The new trees will for ten to appear young Celtis laevigata* fifteen years, and then although they will still (Sugarberry) This com- be quite small, they will begin to blend with species, which is very tolerant of the remaining large trees. Eventually two pacted soils, is well worth trying in the Yard be difficult to find. It hundred-plus trees are to be planted; there are although specimens may approximately three-hundred-thirty existing is larger and more robust than the common trees within the perimeter of the Yard Fence. hackberry, Celtis occidentalis, and can be quite elm-like in its form. The Tree List Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis Following is the final list of tree species se- (Thornless Honey Locust) lected for in the Yard. The tree com- planting Because of its graceful form, the honey locust mittee gave careful consideration to overall is the tree that horticulturists view as visual character, leaf density, color, scale, and many the ideal replacement tree for the American form. The list is intended to the land- provide elm. We should be cautious not to overuse the architect with in with scape flexibility dealing tree as was done with the American the issues of size and availabil- elm, given unpredictable that it is to a number of serious dis- that susceptible ity inevitably complicate any landscape eases. The fact that well under the job. grass grows light canopy of the honey locust makes it an The list of trees focuses on canopy species excellent choice. Using male selections will with a to form a strong tendency tall, straight reduce the litter problem posed by seed pods. trunk and a broad, spreading crown in a rela- * tively short time. Species marked with an as- Gymnocladus dioicus"" terisk (*) are considered secondary choices (Kentucky Coffee Tree) insofar as they possess some characteristic Kentucky coffee tree, while it has a very sparse that causes maintenance problems; are slow- growth habit and stark winter outline, is a growing ; are difficult to transplant; or hard to strikingly beautiful tree. Like the honey locust locate in nurseries. The decision to use these it casts a light, delicate shade that allows grass secondary species should be based on finding to prosper. Male selections should be planted if the right location for them as well as the size possible. 8

Liriodendron tulipifera (Tulip Poplar Tree) Tulip poplar tree has an upright growth habit and very beautiful flowers and leaves. It grows extremely large, so should be planted only in larger spaces. It forms a tall, straight trunk and has good yellow fall color. Magnolia acuminata* (Cucumber Tree) Cucumber magnolia is a very stately single- trunked tree that could be used sparingly in the Yard. It does not appear to have any disease problems, but its large leaves might be seen as a litter problem in the fall. Quercus bicolor (Swamp White Oak) Swamp white oak would be a great addition to the Yard if large specimens can be located. It is slow to establish itself, but well worth the wait. The white oak, Quercus alba, is equally acceptable from a landscape point of view but considered more difficult to transplant. Quercus coccinea (Scarlet Oak) Scarlet oak is similar to pin oak in habit and leaf shape but is somewhat slower growing and more difficult to transplant. It does, however, have much better fall color than pin oak. Quer- cus shumardi, the Shumard red oak, is similar The shadow an American elm on in many respects to the scarlet oak, and some of falls Stoughton Hall in the Old Yard (Peter Del Tredici). growers consider it a better performer. Quercus palustris (Pin Oak) trees can be located in a nursery, willow oak Pin oak casts a shade than red oak and lighter would make a nice addition to the Yard. needs to be limbed up in order to see its beau- tiful, smooth trunk. It is tolerant of both Quercus rubra (Red Oak) poorly drained and compacted soils. When Red oaks are already abundant in the yard, but young, this species tends to hold its brown a few more could well be planted. Because it leaves throughout the winter. This problem casts a dense shade, trees of this species should can be overcome by selecting trees in the nurs- not be planted too closely together or the grass ery that have outgrown this "juvenile" trait. will suffer. Many other tall oaks, including Q. and Quercus phellos’" (Willow Oak) acutissima, imbricaria, macrocarpa, would perform well in the Yard, and their use The narrow, willowy leaves of this beautiful is limited only by their availability. tree cast a light shade. It is relatively easy to transplant and tolerant of wet, compac , °_d soil. Sophora japonica’~ (Japanese Pagoda Tree) A common street tree in the south, the species The Japanese pagoda tree is a beautiful alterna- has traditionally been considered marginally tive to the honey locust. It does, however, have hardy in the Boston area. However, experience a tendency to retain its lower branches. For indicates that trees from the northern parts of this reason, tall specimens that had been its range (central New Jersey) are hardier than limbed up in the nursery should be specified plants from more southern areas. If northern for planting in the Yard. 9

PART II: PERIPHERY TREES in autumn. Only male plants with a spreading These are species suitable for special purposes. habit, as opposed to the narrow ’Fastigiata’ should be In general, they are somewhat smaller in stat- clones, planted. ure than the canopy trees listed above; have a Larix decidua (European Larch) narrow as to a opposed spreading growth habit; This deciduous conifer is tolerant of com- or show a tendency to retain their pronounced pacted soil and would add a nice touch of yel- lower limbs. should be used near build- They low fall color to the yard. Being of relatively or around the of the Yard to lower ings edges narrow habit when it could be the growth young, canopy. used in fairly close proximity to buildings. It Betula nigra (River Birch) can be limbed up with impunity. For planting in the Yard, river birch that has Liquidambar styraciflua (Sweet Gum) been trained to a single trunk should be used, Sweet gum is very tolerant of compacted soils as opposed to specimens grown as a clump. and has extremely beautiful fall color. The tree The tree has peeling, buff-colored bark and is is not a favorite with maintenance people be- very tolerant of compacted soil. It is the only cause it drops spiny "gumballs" in the winter, species of birch that can be considered reliably two months after leaf a sec- disease-resistant. fall, necessitating ond cleanup. Cercidiphyllum japonicum (Katsura Tree) Nyssa sylvatica (T~xpelo or Black Gum) This is a beautiful, midsized tree that casts a This has sensational fall color and light, delicate shade. It would make a nice ad- species beautiful winter form. While somewhat slow dition to the Yard and is relatively mainte- to establish itself and difficult to nance free. transplant, tupelo would make a nice addition to the Yard Cladrastis kentuckea (lutea) (Yellowwood) if we could locate large specimens. This tree has elegant leguminous performed Tilia Silver well in other locations at Harvard and would petiolaris (Pendant Linden) This is one of the most beautiful of the lindens grow well in the Yard. The tree produces its beautiful white flowers in early June, just in because of the silvery white underside of the leaves and because the branches are time for commencement. Because yellowwood gracefully The tree to be tends to keep its lower branches, it needs to be weeping. grows quite large and, to other has fall color. sited in locations where heavy pruning is not relative lindens, good required. Ulmus parviflora (Lace Bark Elm) Fagus sylvatica (European Beech) , This is one of the few elms that is truly resis- This long-lived tree is already widely planted tant to Dutch elm disease. While not as tall or throughout Harvard. It is an excellent choice graceful as the American elm, it has beautiful, for the north sides of buildings that are shady exfoliating bark and an airy crown composed and cool and where foot traffic is minimal. We of small leaves with good fall color. On the particularly recommend the upright form down side, lace bark elm tends to leaf out sev- ’Fastigiata’ for areas where there is not enough eral weeks later than other elms. room for a full-sized, spreading specimen. Zelkova serrata (Zelkova) Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgo) This species is often touted as a replacement While stiff and awkward when young, the tree for the American elm, but it is considerably develops great character as it ages. It is tolerant smaller in stature. For planting in the Yard, we of a wide range of soil conditions, and if given recommend using one of the tall, upright selec- enough sun and moisture, grows quickly. The tions such as ’Village Green’, as opposed to fan-shaped leaves turn a beautiful clear yellow random seedlings. 10

The previous list identifies the trees that the committee selected as appropriate for use in Harvard Yard; the list on the right gives the trees actually obtained in nurseries for the first phase in the Yard replanting program. The map shows which existing trees will be retained, which will be removed or transplanted, and where new trees will be sited. The Old Yard (on the left of the map) is bounded by Holworthy, University, and Grays Halls. The Tercentenary Theater is delineated by Widener Library, Memorial Church, and Sever and Univer- sity Halls. Sever Quad (on the right) extends from Sever Hall to Robinson and Emerson Halls and Quincy Street.

HARVARD YARD REPLANTING PROGRAM PHASE ONE (1994) 111

Michael Van Valkenburgh is chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and principal of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc., Landscape Architects. Peter Del Tredici is Assistant Director for Living Collections at the Arnold Arboretum, and also teaches at the GSD.

The Care and Feeding of the Noble Allee ’

Marc Treib

Two of France’s most engaging seventeenth-century landscapes are once more being rethought.__

The story goes that a certain professor of land- trees of nineteenth-century American cities. scape architecture at a California university Allees are a magical part of the formal garden. was dismayed by what a French student had But what if one should die? proposed for her second planting design Versailles may be Andre Le Notre’s largest project. The trees were, in fact, arranged in work, but two of his most engaging designs are two very straight and parallel lines, arranged the gardens at the Tuileries and the park at in what in her country of origin is termed an Sceaux. The first has always been an element allee. The professor’s sole comment was, of the city, now circumscribed by Paris and the "Hmmm. So you’ve lined them up again?" Seine. Like Central Park it is a respite from After a moment or two of searching for a more urbanity rather than a place where the city pointed response, he played his trump card, meets the field. Sceaux, on the other hand, lo- " "But what if one should die?" cated south of the capital, was created as an What indeed? He needn’t have worried. Af- exurban estate to serve as a retreat from both ter all, trees have been growmg-and dying- the city and the suffocating protocol of the in French allees for three centuries, more or court. Today, it hosts dog walkers, runners, less. But questions of life process within the the elderly, soccer fanatics, model boat pilots, garden are central to any landscape design, and lovers, and those who derive pleasure from to some extent they are made more transpar- photographing long lines of Lombardy poplars. ent in gardens conceived geometrically. When The Tuileries I the pattern is apparent, the presence-or ab- sence-of any single element is highlighted. If Until 1871, the gardens of the Tuileries spread a tree anchoring the corner of a square is miss- outward from a palace of the same name, ing, that loss is more noticeable than one which had been recast during two prior fallen within an informal clump. But in spite rebuildings. By 1576, the chateau had already of the test of horticultural skill, formal gardens broken out of the enclosure surrounding the have been created in virtually every part of the almost perfectly rectangular garden of the me- world, either as domestic or imported prod- dieval structure.’ The domain changed drasti- ucts. Trees arranged in lines have constituted cally with Louis Le Vau’s major building a central feature of landscapes from the renovation of 1664 and the vast plan for the tunnello of Renaissance Italian gardens to the grounds proposed by Andre Le N6tre ~ (1613- allee of French formal gardens to the street 1700), the royal gardener.2

Tuileries. Newer plantings in the gmd of the Grand Couvert. Horse chestnuts predominate (Marc Treib). 14

Tuilemes. The central allee extending the axis of the Louvre to the arch of La Defense. Many of the trees are relatively young (Marc TreibJ.).

His scheme, which was more or less realized (Aesculus hippocastanum) extends the line by 1680, figured the garden as a play of varied through from the Tuileries, past the vast Place arabesques planted within rectangular par- de la Concorde, along the Champs-Elysees to terres ; the dimensions of each were carefully the Arc de Triomphe, through the Porte adjusted to conjure a sense of regularity when Maillot and, as of 1989, on to the square arch the site wished otherwise.3 Typical of Le at La Defense. Notre’s designs, many of the purely geometric Le Notre’s vision was elegant, restrained, figures were adjusted to counter the foreshort- and gridded; architectonic areas adjacent to the ening apprehended from the palace to the east, palace gave way to bosks of mixed plantings. from which point the principal views were Here, horse chestnuts planted on a grid cast. To disguise the slope across the site, roughly fifteen feet apart (known today as the banks were raised along its northern and "Grand Couvert") defined spaces within the southern edges. Ramps joined the principal larger space, provided shade as a respite from levels and a set of horseshoe-shaped ramps the summer sun and served as a screen for connected the ground with the embankment dalliance. As depicted in contemporary en- at the garden’s western terminus.4 In Le gravings, the design of the bosks was not Notre’s time rows of trees extended the thrust consistent. Some were high, some low; some of the axis from palace to fields. Today a forest intricate, some simple. This permitted, within of regularly planted (mostly) horse chestnuts a structural theme, variation in form, use, 15

and amount of sunlight within an order im- mediately perceived. On the north terrace, silkworm-nourishing mulberry trees had been planted during the royal experiment to develop a silk industry. Horse chestnuts replaced them in 1677 as part of the great renovation, at which time spruce also entered the garden.s In other parts of the garden, lindens replaced elms, originally planted in clipped bushes of varying heights and trees of varying species. The Tuileries had traditionally been open to the polite segments of the population; in the aftermath of the Revolution the park became a National Public Garden.6 But political imbro- glio nevertheless took its toll on the vegeta- tion and the chateau. Burned by the Paris Commune on May 23, 1871, the Tuileries pal- ace stood as a ruin for over a decade while its fate was debated. In 1882, the remnants of the building were pulled down, the site was cleared and reformed as a link between the Louvre and the Tuileries. In the later part of the nineteenth-century, during the reign of Napoleon III, the land that once accommo- dated the palace was reserved for imperial use.’ the various of trees- Over centuries species A model of schemes for the Tmlemes by Cnbier- London planes (Platanus x acerifolia), for ex- Benech-Roubaud (foreground) and Wirtz (radiating ample-crept into the garden although horse lmes in the background. The Seine is on the right chestnuts continued to predominate. (EPGL/ F. Caplame). In 1990, an invited competition was held for the redesign of the Tuileries gardens.8 While plantings, new modulations of the ground plane; the principal instigation for the contest was all within Le N6tre’s prevalent structure.9 the great renovation by I. M. Pei to the adja- The results appear, at first glance, to be con- cent Louvre, the garden itself was in serious servative and archaeologically pure, with a need of study and reinvigoration. The care of prevalent formality that conforms to the his- the garden had been attached to the duties of torical structure of the park. But with a more the architect for the Louvre; no master plan careful viewing, one finds changes effected at guided maintenance and replanting, and over the level of horticultural execution. time the grounds began to show the piecemeal Within the bosk areas, for example, new decisions of generations of gardeners. The plantings of linear hedges will softly articulate scheme selected for execution (by Pascal the space beneath the trees. Most of these lines Cribier and Louis Benech with Fran~ois will remain low, planted with Alexandrian Roubaud) accepted the Le Notre structure as a laurel (Danae racemosa), flowering raspberry framework within which to work, but called (Rubus odoratus), and cranesbill geranium for major reformations to the design of the (Geranium macrorhyzum). In certain areas, bosks and to the ground beneath the trees. however, the vegetation will form a true New pools were to be added, new bedding, new hedge. The proposed lines of hedges will be 16

Tmlemes. A principal allee paralleling the Rue de Rmoh, seen with the raised embankment at the far mght (Marc Treib). purposely overwatered and used as irrigation chestnuts, a number of alien species have been for the horse chestnuts, which have not planted: one London plane, for example, is prospered in the polluted Parisian air, a prob- dated as about one-hundred-fifty years old. lem compounded by relatively dry summers Other species were planted as the horse chest- of late. nuts were lost.1o The landscape architects have also produced Policy toward plantmg continues to evolve. a protocol for maintenance and restoration to Mr. Jean Schnebelen, technical director for the guide future work within the gardens. Having Department of the Hauts-de-Seine’s Espaces been a royal domain, the Tuileries remains di- Verts (forests, parks, and gardens), noted that rectly under the administration of the Minis- the horse chestnut, long the mainstay of try of Culture’s Department of Preservation, French parks and formal gardens, is becoming and prior to the competition there had been no increasingly more difficult to procure; nurser- firm policy for maintaining the integrity of the ies prefer to cultivate lindens, and hence, these Le Notre or any other design. Instead, as is so are more available. Horse chestnuts are also often the case, the decisions were made by the plagued by a fungus that appears at the end of gardeners on a day-to-day, item-by-item basis. the growing season and whose effect is only Historically, the royal gardeners seemed more too noticeable in the brown edging of the interested in sustaining a planted rhythm leaves in late summer and autumn. In place of than in maintaining a species-pure planting. the golden tones taken by their northern cous- Although the gardens have relied on horse ins, in Scandinavia for example, the canopies 177

Tmlemes. A typical bosk in the Grand Couvert (Marc Treib). of the trees in the Paris area appear as an unat- last century. The existing building, an emblem tractive agglomeration of dun-toned pennants of the decline in taste and means in the centu- hanging limply from their branches. ries that followed in the wake of the Grand Today, the multiple allees are far from pure Siecle, is undersized and meager in comparison in family and age, although the effect of the to the park itself. gridded bosks overwhelms these disparities. At the request of Colbert’s son the Marquis Only the specialist would notice that all is not de Seignelay, Le Notre executed major renova- coherent in the state of the Tuileries; the Le tions and additions to the gardens from 1685 to Notre structure predominates. 1696.11 The cross axis, set parallel to the chateau terrace, was strengthened by a new Sceaux and quite Grand Canal, which collected If the Tuileries is an urbane and restrained groundwater while contributing to the garden green setting in which the city echoes, the an enormous mirror in which to reflect the park at Sceaux is a gash of geometric order in- skies and the glory of the patron. In the earli- cised into the countryside. The chateau one est existing plan, which dates from 1730, the sees today is not the original built around 1670 triple allees of trees surrounding the Grand by the same Jean-Baptiste Colbert who man- Canal are carefully delineated, but the species aged the seventeenth-century renovation of of tree intended by the landscape architect can- the Tuileries gardens. That structure, like the not be ascertained with any precision. They palace of the Tuileries, was destroyed in the are rendered only as generic shapes; no specif- 188

Notre. The site was considered a health haz- ard, the canal waters were stagnant and fetid, and the once majestic water feature was caus- " tically described as "an open sewer." Ownership of the park was transferred from private ownership to the Department of the Seine in 1923, and the public cry for greater attention ultimately resulted in a major refur- bishing of the park.lz The canal, which had been the target of public abuse, was drained, rebuilt, and waterproofed; 13 an allee of Lom- bardy poplars was planted to ring the canal. The refurbished park was officially opened in 1935. The landscape designer Russell Page, vis- iting Sceaux in the mid-1930s, could report: "Now the canal has been cleaned; lines of Lombardy poplars have been planted down each side and there are boats and facilities for swimming. The work continues and, by de- grees, as much of the old Park as possible will be developed in playing fields and tennis courts."’° By the end of the 1930s the trees were beginning to mature and by the close of the following decade, they began to display signs of the majestic scale they possess today. Populus nigra ’Italica’ entered France for the Sceaux. Detail of the 1730 plan (Musée de 1’Ile de first time only in the mid-eighteenth century, France). that is, long after Le Notre. Thus there was no historical precedent for this choice of tree. But ics are listed. Perhaps the available or accept- today the poplars are so dense, dramatic, and able species were so well established that there architectonic, that it is difficult to conceive of was no need to note them. Perhaps the land- the canal without them. The Lombardy poplar scape architect was more interested in the is a tree accepted by gardeners but adored by structural and spatial purposes served by the architects. Cylindrical in shape with relatively long rows of trees and less interested in the quick growth and heights up to one-hundred means by which to realize them. Elm, horse feet, the Lombardy poplar is the perfect ingre- chestnut, and slightly later, linden, were dient with which to create green architec- frequently used in formal gardens such as ture.’S It also appeals to those who would these, and one can assume that at least one of realize a regrowth quickly. On the down side, these species would have been used at Sceaux the structure of its wood is brittle, the tree is (that is, if the allees were ever planted in their relatively short-lived, and its roots can be entirety). invasive. They tend to destroy foundations Whatever the species, the trees had long de- like canal walls although this has not been a teriorated by the first decades of this century. problem at Sceaux after the work in the 1930s. By the 1920s the entire park was in desperate Within the last few years, the poplars have condition. Segments of the stone walls of the matured to a point where their continued Grand Canal had collapsed, and only scrubby existence has become questionable. At sixty- planting maintained the lines intended by Le five-plus years, they have nearly reached the 199

Sceaux. The Grand Canal, derehct> m 1924 (Musee de 1’lle de France).

Sceaux. The Grand Canal, probably m the mid-1930s, refurbished and planted with allees of Lombardy poplars (Musee de 1’lle de France). 20

Sceaux. The poplars already mature, probably in the 1950s (Musee de 1’lle de France). end of their expected life span. A major storm has not been going well. According to Mr. in February 1990 destroyed a sufficient num- Schnebelen, who is responsible for maintain- ber of the trees to force a rethinking of the ing the park’s vegetation, the oaks have taken planting strategy around the canal. Sceaux, very poorly and are, in many places, dying. No after all, is not a small and private garden but new solution has been found, and there is a a major public park that seems to host an inter- possibility that in spite of their limited longev- national meeting of canal joggers each evening ity, the poplars will be replanted. as the sun sets. For the most part, the poplars around the In places, Quercus robur’Fastigiata’ (upright Grand Canal have been left untouched and are English oak) has been planted to replace those pruned on an individual basis as required. Cer- poplars that have passed on to allee heaven. tainly they have not received the constant Presumably its narrow and upright form while grooming lavished on the linden allees ap- young made it a viable choice to substitute for proaching and extending from the chateau. the Lombardy poplar. That it may acquire a These plantings (called arbres rideaux, or "cur- pyramidal form when mature seems to have tain trees") are clipped annually when in leaf, been of less concern to those responsible for usually between May and September. What new plantings. In the interest of truth-in- was once accomplished with ladders, clippers, arboriculture these new trees have been clearly and a sort of whiplike pole with a blade at marked by signs noting that the planting is its end-still to be seen in use at Vaux-le- only experimental. The experiment, in fact, Vicomte-is now executed with electric shears 21

J’ceaux. Experimental plantmg of fastigiate oak, marked mth a sign, 1992 (Marc TreibJ.).

Sceaux. The Grand Canal In 1993 (Marc Treib). 22

2 in the hands of gardeners elevated in a The project for chateau and garden was conceived cherrypicker. In spite of this contemporary by Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Secretary of State and Director of Public Works to Louis XIV, to woo the the task remains enormous technology, given Sun King back from his seat at Versailles. (It didn’t the kilometers-long allees that structure the work.)/ idea of Sceaux. The French, however, remain up to the task. 3 For a chronology of the gardens at the Tuileries, see F. Hamilton Gardens lllusion: The At Sceaux even more than the Tuileries, the Hazlehurst, of Genius of Andre Le Nostre (Nashville- Vanderbilt allees have received as much care as funding University Press, 1980), 167-186. allows.’6 In the summer, the shade of the allees 4 at Sceaux provides welcome relief from the Today this overlooks and forms one side of the Place long day’s sun. Like blinders on a horse, they de la Concorde, one of Pans’ most sublime traffic carrousels. direct-or coerce-the visitor to continue _

first to the then to the cas- 5 moving: chateau, Hazlehurst, 183, note 9. Hazlehurst translates what cade, down to the octagonal basin, and, of was probably sapm in the original as Norway course, on to the canal. In winter the dense and spruce. Louis Benech suggests that the species was intricate branch structures become sculptural more likely the native Abies pectmata (silver fir). forms set the In how- against sky. any season, 6 See Jean-Pierre Babelon, "Les Tuileries dans the line of the and the of ever, planting rhythm 1’histoire et dans la mlle," 5-13, and other essays in the interval modulate the walk of those who Monuments Historiques, Les Tuilenes (November follow the directed path. 1991), No. 177. Is this, yet again, the French predilection for ~ In the years from 1881 to 1893 this area was recast valuing geometry and architectonic purpose by chateau architect Edmond Gmllaume m a quasi- over natural But growing patterns? Perhaps. mmrormg of the first panel of the Le N&tre scheme. the conflict between nature and human con- Thus, on the site of the demolished palace, circular struct does not create a major problem. Gar- beds substituted for the pools of water, and will continue to evolve to specimen planting gave the garden a slight flavor of dening practice the fashionable meet the English and/or gardenesque changing environmental, economic, manner. While a trifle discordant m taste and form, and use political conditions, whether in the Guillaume’s scheme succeeded m joining the to which the park space is assigned or in the Louvre to the Tuileries garden proper through selection of species. The traditional allee will symmetry and repetition. His task was made more difficult the extension of Rue des receive its care and by Pyramides feeding. southward to the Seme as Avenue du General what if one should die? In some But, again, Lemonmer. The road effectively separated the instances, the eye will continue what nature Louvre from the gardens. has removed; the mind will complete the gap. 8 See Tams "The Politics of " The missing element can, in fact, create a syn- Kmetyk, Gardening," copation that enriches rather than detracts Pans City (July 1993), 20-27, for a candid report of the competition, its implementation, and the from the A tree can rhythm. missing actually politics that mfluenced its realization. contribute to a design, as a young tree can re- mind us of the life cycles of living organisms. 9 Sadly, politics reared its ugly head, in a manner characteristic of France but almost to And then, if one should die, you can always impossible explam on any rational level. The Cnbier-Benech- plant a new one. Roubaud scheme was truncated; Jacques Wirtz, another competition mmtee, was given the design Notes w of the Cour du Carrousel. The two teams were thus forced into a marriage of mconvenience, and 1 Androuet du Cerceau, Les Plus Excellents judging from the resulting design-the clash of Bastiments de France 1576, 1579), reprint edited by competing ideologies was aggravated by the Pei David Thomson (Pans: Sand & Conti, 1980~, 220- terrace between them-the menage looks to be 225. made for divorce. The reasoning behmd the Wirtz 23

scheme is difficult to ascertam, and the relation of Washingtonia palm is another I-beam par excel- the radiating hedges to the embankment agamst lence, with only a small topknot of greenery which they will bump due to a level differential, to suggest that it is actually alive and growing. appears clumsy at best. That the Tuileries will 16 be designed in fragments is unfortunate; the Like most places in the world, the maintenance opportunity to once agam reunite the full sweep of budgets for the park systems of Paris and the the gardens has been lost. surrounding areas have been drastically reduced. The number of gardeners tendmg parks like Sceaux 1o Fran~ois Roubaud believes that on average some has dropped accordmgly, making even routine fifty trees per acre are cut and replaced each year, upkeep a challenge. and that as a result a considerable portion of the park’s trees is actually quite young. Acknowledgments 11 For a historic overview of Sceaux, see Hazlehurst, The author thanks Francois Roubaud and Louis Benech 233-256. for discussmg their work on the Tuilenes; Jean Schnebelen for explaimng mamtenance practice at ’2 Beaux-Arts Philippe Diloe, "Sceaux," (Vol. VIII), Sceaux; and Jean-Michel Cuzm at the Musee de 1’Ile de 1931, unpaged. France for helping to locate early photos and other documents on Sceaux. is also due to 13 Appreciation Hazlehurst /234-236/ believes this waterproofmg to Dorothee Imbert, who interviewed Mr. Schnebelen, have been a mistake because it may have hastened with translations, and critically (and ruthlessly) the of of the canal’s helped collapse segments retaining reviewed an early version of the text. wall shortly after the refurbishing. Root intrusion could have been the primary culpmt, however. Marc Treib is professor of architecture at the 14 Russell Page, "Sceaux: A Chateau Garden," University of California at Berkeley and is currently m Landscape and Garden (Winter 1936), 211. Pans studying modern landscape architecture m Europe, 1930-1955, under the auspices of Guggenheim is Robert Riley of the University of Illmois has and Fulbright fellowships. He is the editor of Modern anointed this the Fragrant I-Beam School of Landscape Architecture~ A Cnucal Remew / 1993/, co- Landscape Design, with trees and shrubs author of A Guide to the Gardens of Kyoto ( 1980/, and substituting for plywood and concrete. The author of Sanctuaries of Spamsh New Mexico (1993). "A Most Dangerous Tree": The Lombardy Poplar in Landscape Gardening

Christina D. Wood ~

The history of the Lombardy poplar in America illustrates that there are fashions in trees just as in all else.

"The Lombardy poplar," wrote Andrew Jackson may have originated in Persia or perhaps the Downing in 1841, "is too well known among Himalayan region; because the plant was not us to need any description."’ This was an ex- mentioned in Roman agricultural texts, writ- traordinary thing to say about a tree that had ers reasoned that it must have been introduced been introduced to North America less than to Italy from central Asia.3 But subsequent sixty years earlier. In that short time, this writers have thought it more likely that the distinctive cultivar of dominating height Lombardy sprang up as a mutant of the black had gained notoriety due to aggressive over- poplar. Augustine Henry found evidence that planting in the years just after its introduction. it originated between 1700 and 1720 in Lom- The Lombardy poplar (Populus nigra bardy and spread worldwide by cuttings, reach- ’Italica’) is a very tall, rapidly growing tree ing France in 1749, England in 1758, and North with a distinctively columnar shape, often America in 1784.4 It was soon widely planted with a buttressed base. It is a fastigiate muta- in Europe as an avenue tree, as an ornamental, tion of a male black poplar (P. nigra).2 As a and for a time, for its timber. According to at member of the willow family (Salicaceae)- least one source, it was used in Italy to make North American members of the genus in- crates for grapes until the early nineteenth clude the Eastern poplar (Populus deltoides), century, when its wood was abandoned for this bigtooth aspen (Populus granditata), and purpose in favor of that of P. nigra. The first quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)-the cuttings to reach England were planted at tree prefers moist, rich soils but tolerates a Blenheim,s where the cultivar can still be seen. wide range of conditions. Easily propagated It was the avid plant collector and landscape from woody stem cuttings, it is hardy from gardener William Hamilton who introduced Zone 9 to 3 and can attam its full height of the tree to North America. Documents indi- one-hundred feet or more in twenty to thirty cate that his use of the tree followed practices years. With a spread of only ten to fifteen feet, in Great Britain and Europe. In 1788, a visitor it presents a striking form in the landscape. to the Woodlands, Hamilton’s showplace on The Lombardy was disseminated through- the Schuylkill River west of Philadelphia, out Europe in the mid-eighteenth century wrote that the walks were "planted on each from Italy, where it was found growing on the side with the most beautiful & curious flowers banks of the Po River in Lombardy. There was & shrubs. They are in some parts enclosed speculation in the nineteenth century that it with the Lombardy poplar except here & there 25

wanted without shade, not to introduce it on the south side of any garden or orchard, unless at a distance of at least twice its ordinary height. "$ Easily propagated and rapid of growth, the Lombardy quickly became exceptionally popu- lar and demand for it was high. A short thir- teen years after its introduction at the Woodlands, a nursery in Newton, Massachu- setts, devoted two full acres to its cultivation.9 The next year (1798), the Prince Nursery in Flushing, New York, advertised ten thousand Lombardy poplars for sale, each a height of ten to seventeen feet.’° By the early years of the nineteenth century it was said that "they infested the whole island [of Manhattan], if not most of the middle, northern, and many southern States.""l European use of the Lombardy as an avenue tree had not gone unnoticed in North America. John Claudius Loudon had recorded in his influential Arboretum et Fruticetum Britan- nicum of 1838 "an avenue of Lombardy pop- the oldest and the in Lombardy poplars on Boston’s Fenway, 1919 (E. H. lars, highest Germany; Wilson).). none of the trees are under 90 ft. high, and many of them are above 120 ft. Nothing of openings are left to give you a view of some the kind can be more sublime."’2 In images of fine trees or beautiful prospect beyond ..." Boston made shortly after the turn of the One of Hamilton’s own letters indicates other nineteenth century, they can be seen lining uses. In 1789 he referred to a flower border "in Park Street, along the top of the Common. front of the necessary [privy] skreen of cedars Americans, in a great hurry as always, prized & Lombardy poplars." The leftover poplar cut- the rapid growth that brought nearly instanta- tings were to be planted "in the Gaps long the neous shade. No doubt they were very beau- orchard fence next the road placing them as tiful while they lasted, and they offered not to exceed a foot from each other as the sea- ancillary benefits: "The elevation of the tree is son is so far advanced they should be planted also favourable for inviting and protecting very deep or will fail. 2 Eyes above ground will singing-birds ... Since the streets of some of be enough. "6 The first American guide to the American towns have been planted with planting, published in 1806 by Philadelphia Lombardy poplars, the [Baltimore] orioles are nurseryman Bernard M’Mahon, also recom- constant visitors ..."’3 mended it as a hedge.’ Its sheltering qualities There is nothing like widespread use to were widely recognized, and for this purpose it uncover the weaknesses of a plant, and the was to be cut at top and sides to form a narrow Lombardy’s shortcomings got ample exposure. green wall. "It is an excellent tree for shelter- Problems appeared shortly after the tree came ing or shading either fields or gardens in a flat into widespread use on streets. Like other country; but care must be taken to plant it at a members of the genus, its wood is weak and sufficient distance; and, where shelter is prone to break. The roots disrupt sidewalk 26

The Lombardies that encmcled the tomb of Jean- jacques Rousseau at Ermenonmlle, France, formed The 1915 caption read: "This tree has a special one of Europe’s most famous tree plantmgs. The landscape value which no other tree possesses and tableau was often imitated (Promenade ou under special conditions it can be used to better itineraire des jardins d’Ermenonville [5. Girardin],), advantage than other trees" (Lemson, Amemcan 1788). Forestry, Vol. 21J. pavement above ground and penetrate and clog "when first introduced into this country the water and sewer pipes below ground. Boston’s rage for it was so great that town streets, and Park Street Lombardies were replaced by country roads, and farm-house yards, were ev- American elms as early as 1826. By 1871, an erywhere filled with them; but familiarity has ordinance compelled the removal of existing bred contempt."’~ Just before the turn of the specimens and banned the planting of new ones twentieth century, Marianna Van Rensselaer in Albany, New York. By then, many cities, noted that "we do not see it so often, although including Washington, D.C., and Brooklyn, no our fathers dearly loved to plant it. It has suf- longer tolerated the Lombardy. 14 fered much from disease in recent years, and, By mid-nineteenth century it had fallen moreover, the canons of such gardening taste from favor elsewhere, too. Downing, that as we possess say that its formality is inappro- period’s chief arbiter of landscape taste and priate in naturalistic landscape-scenes."" American disseminator of English practices, Notwithstanding reservations, it was ac- complained in 1841 that it had been so over- knowledged throughout the nineteenth cen- used as to become "tiresome and disgusting."’SI tury and into the twentieth that properly used, Another writer commented in 1870 that the tree played a sigmficant role in the land- 27

"A degree of sublimity" John Claudius Loudon’s Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum, published in eight volumes over the years 1834 to 1837, remains an important compendium of centuries of information on British trees, native and introduced. In it, he gave eleven pages to the Lombardy poplar, saying, "We have been induced to enlarge on the subject more than we should have done, from seeing the frequent misapplication of the tree in the neighbourhood of London, as well as its good ef- fects in various instances."* He therefore offered several examples "to show how easy it is, by means of the Lombardy poplar, to add to the effect of a landscape, or to destroy the harmony of its different parts. In short, the Lombardy poplar, like the weeping willow and birch, is a most dangerous tree in the hands of a planter who has not considerable knowledge and good taste in the composition of landscape." Below are some of Loudon’s examples.

yet, when contemplated by themselves, are quite uninteresting, from their dull and monotonous but add the as in and The Lombardy poplar, considered as a tall comcal appearance; poplars, figure 4, create an interest and a certain mass of foliage, becomes of great importance in you immediately give character to the which it did not before scenery, when contrasted with round-headed trees. It group, The branches of the is a known rule m the composition of landscape, that possess.... poplars, rising stiffly contrast and render more all horizontal lines should be balanced and sup- upwards, with, graceful, the horizontal or masses of the round-headed ported by perpendicular ones; and, hence, the bridge pendant and the stems of the clear of [at Blenheim] in figure 1, displaymg a long and trees; poplars being branches to a than the other form conspicuous horizontal line, has its effect greatly greater height trees, an in the lower of the mcreased by the poplars planted on each side of it. agreeable variety part group. Not only the lines of the bridge are balanced and supported by the upright poplars, but lengthened and pleasmg reflections from the water are produced; which, breaking the horizontal gleams of light, not only produce variety and mchness, but by mcreasmg the length of the perpendicular lines formed by the poplars, confer a degree of sublimity on the picture: smce it is allowed by all writers on the material sublime, from Burke to Dugald Stewart, that gradually tapering objects of great height create the emotion of sublimity. This poplar, or some equally fastigiate tree, should appear in all plantations and belts that are made with a view to picturesque effect; as m figure 2 where the outline is vaned as well as the face of the plantation. Masses of round-headed trees, such as figure 3, though they might be seen to advantage m some situations, when groupmg with other objects,

’ Loudon, Arboretum et Fzuticetum Britanmcum, Vol. III (London. A. Spotuswoode for the Author, 1838~, 1660-1670. 28

scape. Downing recognized its beauty and the elegant effect it could produce when employed to give "life, spirit, and variety to a scene com- posed entirely of round-headed trees ... when a tall poplar, emerging here and there from the back or centre of the group, often imparts an air of elegance and animation to the whole."’8 In L. H. Bailey’s influential Standard Cyclope- dia of Horticulture, first published in 1900, it was recommended "to give such points of em- phasis in green landscape as does the church- spire in the village."’9 And the Lombardy was surely one of the plants Guy Lowell had in mind when he wrote in American Gardens in 1902: An American traveling abroad is sure, after see- ing the formal gardens of Rome and of North- ern Italy, to wish to reproduce them in some form in his own country. He does not always remember that climatic conditions are not the same ... different flowers, trees, and hedges have to be used in attemptmg to produce ef- fects similar to those in Italy, for it is impos- sible to grow here many of the broad-leaved evergreens which give so much character to the Cypress Alley, Villa Gamberaia, Italy, as lllus- villa gardens of Rome. The lines and masses trated in An Introduction to the of be the of be Study Landscape may similar, principles design may H. V Hubbard ~ Theodora Kimball, the but the effect in detail is for Design by same, different, 1915. different elements must be used, or must needs be to meet new conditrons?o changed are planted solely for their architectural value. The resemblance of the Lombardy’s narrow, The house is rather narrow and high. These slender seem to to aspiring head to that of the Italian cypress tall, "Lombardys" belong the scheme of the house and it into bet- ‘ (Cupressus sempervirens) came in very handy bring in the Gilded Age when wealthy Americans ter proportion.21 acquired the taste and means to import Euro- It was in Cornish, on his own property and pean models of landscaping. In an early, rela- that of four neighbors, that the artist, archi- tively modest instance, artists and writers, tect, and landscape designer Charles Platt de- beginning with the sculptor Augustus Saint- veloped the Italianate villa style that played Gaudens in the 1880s, transformed New Eng- such an important part in the country house land farmhouses in Cornish, New Hampshire, movement in turn-of-the-century America. He into versions of hillside Italian villas. A 1906 used the Lombardy as Italians use their cy- article in Century Magazine described Saint- press, to frame views and accent architecture .22 Gaudens’ use of Lombardies: The poplar’s susceptibility to disease has been since its earliest of cul- Lombardy poplars have more than once been problematic years used with excellent effect by Cornish garden- tivation in Europe and North America. It is ers, and, what is rarer, with reserve ... The prone to a canker-forming fungus that kills the single poplars, which, on Mr. Saint-Gaudens’s tree from the top down, destroying its shape place, stand one on each comer of the terrace and shortening its lifespan. Cryptodiaporthe 29

An allee of Lombardy poplars directs visitors through the entrance of an estate in Lenox, Massachusetts, 1920 (Archives of the Arnold Arboretum). canker, also known as Dothichiza canker, is But its splendidly dramatic size and form en- one of the major diseases of poplars in general, sures a memorable impact whenever it makes but it affects the Lombardy most severely. an appearance. Identified in the United States in 1915, the Notes . canker occurs wherever Lombardies grow, but conditions and the I regional preexisting Andrew Jackson Downing, A Treatise on the Theory health of the individual plant appear to affect and Practice of Landscape Gardenmg /1841; the extent of infection. No cure is known.’~ repnnt, Little Compton, R.I.: Theophrastus Pub- 154-155. So while the Lombardy is still grown, lishers, 1977), in Mediterranean climates or more 2 especially W. J. Bean, Trees and Shrubs Hardy m the Bntrsh northern regions, for many of us in the North- Isles, 8th ed. (London: John Murray, 1976), 320. east it persists mostly as a memory. If Bean writes that the so-called "female Lombardy Downing were writing today, he could no poplars" are almost certamly seedlings of typical P mgra by "Italica," and are generally less longer say that it is too well known to need pollinated columnar than the male parent. description. For so many years a lead player in the cast of trees favored for landscape effect, 3 John Claudius Loudon, Arboretum et Fruticetum it has become a bit player in most schemes. Bntannrcum; or, The Trees and Shrubs of Bntam, 30

Vol. III (London: A. Spottiswoode for the Author, 1s Downing, 152. 1838), 1661. 16 Frank J. Scott, The Art of Beautifymg Suburban 4 Augustine Henry, "The Black Poplars," The Gar- Home Grounds (NY: D. Appleton, 1870/, 363. deners’ Chronicle (July 4, 1914) LVI, Third Senes (1,436) : 1-2. 1~ Mrs. Schuyler [Marianna] Van Rensselaer, Art Out- s of-Doors (NY: Charles Scnbner’s Sons, 1893), 274. 5 Loudon, 1660, 1662. ’ 18 Downing, 152. 6 Karen Madsen, "To Make His Country Smile: William Hamilton’s Woodlands," Arnoldia ~Sprmg 19 Warren Mannmg, "The Art of Designing Land- 1989/ 49/2/: 19. scapes," The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, ed. L. H. Bailey, Vol. II, 2nd ed. (NY: The Macmillan ~ Bernard Amemcan Gardener’s Calendar Company, 1928), 1786. , M’Mahon, ~ (Philadelphia: B. Graves for the Author, 1806), 257. zo Guy Lowell, Introduction, The American Garden 8 Loudon,1668. (Boston: Bates & Guild Company, 1902), unpaged.

21 9 U. P. Hednck, A History of Horticulture in America Frances Duncan, "The Gardens of Cormsh," to 1860 (NY: Oxford University Press, 1950), 146. Century Magazine (May 1906) 72: 3-19.

zz Keith N. A. Platt: as 1° Stephen A. Spongberg, A Reumon of Trees (Cam- Morgan, Charles The Artist bridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1990), 80. Architect (NY: The Architectural History Foun- dation : 1985), 24-26. Morgan writes that Platt 11 J. W. Francis Old New York; Or Reminiscences of "worked broadly with existing stands of mature the Past Years York: Charles trees, favormg groves of birches and pmes and Sixty (New Roe, 1858/,(, " 23, quoted in Spongberg, 60. addmg Lombardy poplars for architectural accents." 23 A. Howard H. and Iz Loudon, Vol. I, 147. Wayne Smclair, Lyon, Warren T. Johnson, Diseases of Trees and Shrubs (Ithaca, NY:

Cornell Press: 184. - 13 Loudon, 1666-1667, quotes The Magazme of University 1987), Natural History, Vol. I, 418. Christina Wood is pursumg a certificate m the history 14 J. J. Levison, ed., "Ornamental and Shade Trees," of landscape design at the Radcliffe Semmars of Amencan Forestry (October 1915) 21 (262): 995. Radcliffe College. Punctuating the Skyline: Alternatives to the Lombardy

Karen Madsen

Tree-experts may warn me that they are liable to borers and bark-lice, and that they lose their leaves early in the season, and in many ways invite the use of the axe. It may be so. I have enjoyed them, howeve~ for a number of years and they are entirely healthy yet, although surely a score of years in age. It will be a long time, therefore, before an axe under my direction will touch them. Even the tendency to lose their leaves early m the season would not induce me to use the axe, for their lofty spire-like forms dominate every- thing and establish that variety of skyline so much to be desired by the lawn-planter. Let the hmbs be bare and the trunk scarred and seamed with borers, the noble outline is there ... Samuel Parsons (1891)(

More than a hundred years later, there remain P. alba ’Pyramidalis’ (Bolleana or fastigiate "lawn-planters" who stand with the nineteenth- white poplar) are candidates, although not free century superintendent of New York City of problems themselves. The latter can be seen Parks on this issue-dedicated, as he was, to on the Charles River Esplanade in Boston. Very the proposition that the Lombardy poplar like the Lombardy in habit (although rather offers qualities not available in other trees. For wider in proportion to its height), it can be rec- these steadfast few, "the noble outline," the ognized in summer by the cottony white of the fast growth, sublime height, and sinuous leaf underside of its leaves. It is easily propagated, movement are irreplaceable and irresistible, but does not grow as fast as the Lombardy nor more than offsetting a short life made shorter quite so high. Like many fastigiates, which still by canker. In the face of all odds, they con- concentrate their resources on growing upright tinue to plant the Lombardy. But for those instead of spreading, it tends to become bare at whose commitment to the problem-ridden the base. Lombardy falls short of Mr. Parsons’, there are other fastigiate trees that are worthy of consid- Quercus robur ’Fastigiata’ eration for specific situations. (Upright English Oak) Nearly all long-cultivated trees have deviated Populus sp. into erect-growing-as well as weeping-forms, The Lombardy hadn’t been long in cultivation and among them is the oak, emblem of when one special quality was noted by Wil- strength and longevity. The upright English liam Gilpin / 1791 that is, "the waving line it oak is large and imposing; a mature tree may forms when agitated by the wind. Most trees, be sixty feet or more in height with a span of in this circumstance, are partially agitated: only ten to fifteen feet. When leafless, it one side is in rest, while the other is in motion. greatly resembles the Lombardy in form. It has But the Italian poplar waves in one simple the advantage of being longer-lived and freer sweep from the top to the bottom, like an from insect attack, although mildew can be a ostrich feather on a lady’s head." All poplars serious problem. have the flattened leafstalk that makes the Since oaks are relatively difficult to propa- Lombardy’s blade so responsive to the wind, gate vegetatively, cultivated specimens are and thus another poplar is a logical choice to generally grown from seed, which creates the replicate its movement and sound. Populus possibility of wide variation in form. Most tremulus ’Erecta’ (upright European aspen) or seedlings-as many as eighty or ninety percent 32

Populus alba ‘Pyramidahs’ nses like a vertical spire from a homzontal lme of trees on the Charles River Esplanade, Boston, giving contrast to a weepmg willow and providing the exclamation point in a composition of rounded trees. All photos by the author. according to Dirr-do acquire the columnar oak’s, and its density gives it a bushier form habit of the parent. Specimens that grow true than either. The fastigiate beech seen in a photo to form approach the Lombardy in outline and to the right is one of three that stand in a effect. sunken garden in Boston’s Back Bay. Now fifty years old, they have broadened to a pear shape; Fagus sylvatica ‘Fastigiata’ with age, side shoots tend to come off the main (Fastigiate or Dawyck Beech) branches and to splay out, especially with the The fastigiate beech shares the grace and maj- weight of rain. In the past few years, the lower esty of its parent species, as well as its beauty, third of these trees have been pruned. especially when twigs take on a purplish tinge in the spring sunlight and the shapely buds Acer rubrum ’Armstrong’ Red have begun to expand but are still enclosed in (Armstrong Maple) their delicate, bronzy carapaces. It is also true Both ’Armstrong’ and A. rubrum ’Columnare’ to the species in its glossy foliage, smooth gray are grown at the Arnold, but here it is the bark, and fibrous roots. The fastigiate cultivar Armstrong that is more nearly upright. Fast can attain eighty feet. growers (as much as twelve feet in five to Dense and amenable to shearing, it makes seven years according to Dirr) and moderately an admirable hedge, screen, or wall. Its breadth weak-wooded, they can attain seventy or more is greater than the Lombardy’s or the upright feet in height, gradually spreading out over Quercus robur ‘Fastigiata’ (upright English oakJ m Fagus sylvauca Fnstigiata (fastlglate or Dawyk Weston, Massachusetts. beech) on Marlborough Street, Boston.

Acer Wuum Armstrong’ (Armstrong red ruupleJ Carpinus betulus ‘Columnaris’ (the Schmoo horn- at the Arnold Arboretum. beam) at the Arnold Arboretum. 34

narrow tree is too great, the plant accepts pruning very well. However, its dense habit is by itself so neat that it looks naturally as though it had been sheared. With its impene- trable branches, the columnar hornbeam makes a superb hedge, and as a sheltering screen it is hard to beat. Its very erect branches take a slender spire-like form when young, later approaching the oval, but always very striking and elegant.

Sources and References Bean, W. J. 1907. "Fastigiate Trees." The Gardeners’ Chronicle 41 (Third Series) : 149-150, 184- 185, 200.

1976-1980. Trees and Shrubs Hardy m the Bnush Isles, ed. D. L. Clarke. 8th ed. rev. 4 vols. London: John Murray.

1988. Trees and Shrubs Hardy m the Bntish Isles, Supplement. London: John Murray. Dirr, Michael A. 1990. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants. Their Identification, Ornamental Charactemstics, Culture, Propagation and Uses. 4th edition., Champaign, IL: Stipes Pubhshmg Company.

Gilpm, William. 1791. Remarks on forest scenery and other woodland mews (relative chiefly to Carpinus betulus ’Columnaris’ among other Car- picturesque beauty) illustrated by the scenes pinus at the Arnold Arboretum. of New-Forest m Hampshire. 2 vol. London. time from an initial width of about fifteen feet. Parsons, Samuel, Jr. 1891. Landscape Gardemng. New They share the early spring flowers, lovely York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons. silver-gray bark, and fall color of their species. Wyman, Donald. 1965. Trees for American Gardens. The Armstrong serves well as an avenue tree, Rev. and enlarged ed. New York: Macmillan especially in crowded urban conditions. Publishmg Co., Inc. Carpinus betulus ’Columnaris’ Acknowledgements (Columnar Hornbeam) Thanks for arboncultural advice are due Phyllis The of the are sheltering qualities Lombardy Andersen, Peter Del Tredici, and Gary Koller and to more than equally supplied by the columnar Mary Jane Kaplan for literary advice. hornbeam (or the "Shmoo," as it is affection- ately known at the Arnold). If the height of this relatively small (forty to sixty feet) and Karen Madsen is editor of Arnoldia. IN MEMORIAM jennifer Reimer Quigley 1946-1994

It is with deep regret and sadness that we record the death of Jennifer Reimer Quigley on 30 March 1994, after a three-month battle with cancer. Known to many as Jennifer Hicks, Jennie joined the staff of the Arnold Arboretum on 29 March 1976 as Horticul- tural Secretary, a position she held until she took charge of the plants records office in March of 1979. It was in this latter position that Jennie truly found her niche at the Arboretum, a position that utilized her numerous talents and skills of organization, cartography, cal- ligraphy, and her great attention to detail. To the position she also brought her consider- able knowledge of botany and horticulture and botanical nomenclature, not to mention her great persistence in seeing enormous tasks to completion. Literally thousands of zinc records labels were created by Jennie on the now-antiquated addressograph machine, and the vast majority of records in our computer database were her entries. Jennie was also instrumental in evoking change in the fundamental ways in which the records, labeling, and mapping office operated to insure the proper curation of the Arboretum’s living collections and to make information readily available to all who needed it. It was during Jennie’s tenure that the Arboretum staff began the initial com- puterization of the living collections files under her direction, an attempt that was doomed by virtue of hardware failure, but one that led to the development of BG-Base and the establishment of a computer network at the Arboretum. Working as Kerry Walter’s chief Arboretum consultant, Jennifer’s imprint is present throughout the plant records side of BG-Base, the computer software that is now used at the Arnold Arbore- tum and at botanical gardens and arboreta worldwide. Over her eighteen years at the Arboretum Jennifer was also responsible for training and supervising a cadre of horticultural interns, many of whom have gone on to career positions at other botanical gardens and arboreta. It was a recurring and familiar event when one of these former interns would return to the Arboretum, specifically to seek out their former mentor in her basement office, which prior to the renovation of the Hunnewell Building served as the nerve center for the living collections department. While deeply involved with the curation of the woody plant collections of the Arbore- tum during working hours, Jennie spent untold time in her own garden during late after- noons and evenings and on weekends. An active member of the New England Chapter of the Rock Garden Society, Jennie served that society in various capacities including board member and chapter chairperson from 1991 to 1993. In the plant world her true love focused on small herbaceous perennials suitable for cultivation in the rock garden, and her knowledge of these plants was encyclopedic. During the winter months, more- over, Jennie’s free time was usually spent reading about plants, seeking sources for new unusual ones, and coaxing seeds received from fellow enthusiasts to germinate in the warmth of her comfortable, cat-inhabited home. Ever helpful in providing needed information to both staff and the steady stream of visitors that came to study and utilize the collections at the Arboretum as well as her many friends on various computer networks, Jennifer Quigley will be sorely missed by all her friends. We have lost not only her efficiency and knowledge but also her humor, her straightforward approach to problem solving, her kindness, and her devotion to plants and the Arnold Arboretum. -S. A. Spongberg 36

Arnold Arboretum Weather Station Data -1993

Note: According to state climatologist R. Lautzenheiser, 1993 was very close to normal in precipitation and sun- shine. The months of May, June, July, and August were sunny, hot, and dry, creating a drought-like atmosphere at the Arboretum. The high temperature of 99° was accompanied by twenty other days in the 90’s. This was seven 90° days above our normal count. September brought a reprieve with cooler temperatures and abundant moisture. This trend continued through October, November, and December, allowing our plant material to recover before the freeze of winter. Overall, there were thirty-one more growing days in 1993 than in 1992. NEWS

A New Relevancy newly appointed president of the through the creation of an endow- Harvard Corporation, declared ment fund in his memory, would Robert E. Cook, Director this Arboretum to be an essential secure the measure of financial sta- The Historical Challenge part of a great educational enter- bility needed to sustain its mission More than a century ago, a new prise, Harvard University. to collect and study the trees of institution was born through the Fifty-four years after its found- the world. A goal of $1,000,000 vision of three men. Frederick ing, the Arboretum faced a grave was set, and a campaign was Law Olmsted, newly appointed challenge upon the death of launched. architect of Boston’s park system, Sargent, its first and only director. A loyal group of Sargent’s designed an extraordinary plan for How would this vision, nurtured friends from across the country the land. Charles Sprague Sargent, by his leadership and supported rose to meet this challenge. And newly appointed head of the by the annual generosity of his what friends they were. In New Arnold Arboretum, directed the close associates, survive the finan- York alone, the Charles Sprague assemblage of a magnificent cial storms ahead without the Sargent Memorial Fund was collection of trees for scientific living spirit of its leader? Only a chaired by Henry James with J. P. research. Charles William Eliot, strong investment in the future, Morgan serving as treasurer. They

Arboretum education initiatives aim to make children partners in science learning. raised $1,021,884. Today, the institutions are being called upon forest management policies Arnold Arboretum is known the to transcend their traditional mis- that can enhance sustainable world over for its leadership in the sion of scholarship. Much more development. study of trees, especially those of than in the past, their resources Here in our own community, the Asian continent. are being asked to address urgent the Arboretum has become a cen- A New Relevancy social, economic, and international ter for science learning among the It has been sixty-six years since issues through direct service to schoolchildren of Boston. Each that great campaign on behalf of society. year we bring hundreds of class- the Arboretum. Today the institu- The Arboretum has heard this rooms to experience our land- tion faces a new challenge. Our call, and we are in a unique posi- scapes, and we work directly with world has grown very small in the tion to respond. On the one hand, elementary teachers to enhance last half century. The common as part of Harvard University, their knowledge of basic biology environment that sustains our we curate the collections and cul- and support their instruction of daily existence is under increasing tivate the knowledge that will be science in the classroom. Through assault. Where once Sargent required for the resolution of the use of telecommunications would have traveled thousands of pressing problems. (See box below technology, we will soon link miles to collect the seeds of exotic on the upcoming expedition to neighboring schools in Boston and Chinese trees, today those rich for- China.) On the other hand, as part Brookline directly with each other ests of temperate Asia have been of the urban fabric of Boston, we and with the educational resources decimated by the axe. Over the experience an added obligation to of the Arboretum. This electronic past several decades, the accelerat- transform this knowledge into ser- commumty will reinforce the ing loss of forests in tropical Asia vice for the community around us. development of a social commu- has contributed to irreversible Consequently, we have begun to nity for science learning through changes in the very climate that answer this call. our collaborative work with fami- surrounds us all. With the support of interna- lies, teachers, and their students. Closer to home, the next tional agencies such as the World Because this service to society generation of children, who will Bank, we are bringing the exper- is an amplification of our historic inherit this altered world, are tise of our staff to collaborate mission, it places new demands on leaving our school system unpre- directly with the governments of our financial resources. We must pared for the future. We are fail- Asian nauons. Working closely continue our traditional role of ing to educate all Americans in with country scientists, we are curating our collections and fos- the basic understanding of science providing assistance for the con- tering scholarship. At the same and technology that permits them servation of their critical biologi- time we must confront a challenge to evaluate critical environmental cal resources through botanical today that parallels that con- issues and execute the obligations exploration and inventory, the fronted by Sargent’s associates of responsible citizenship. identification of promising medic- sixty-six years ago. How can we It is no surprise that all of our inal plants, and the generation of ensure that our present commit-

The Arboretum is pleased to announce its participation in a plant-collecting expedition to Wudang Shan Mountains in Hubei Province, China, planned for Fall 1994. As a member of the North American China Plant Exploration Consor- tium (NACPEC), which will cooperate with the Nanjing Botanical Garden in this venture, the Arboretum will be represented by Peter Del Tredici, Assistant Director for Living Collections. Other members of the Consortium who will be participating in the trip include Longwood Gardens, Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania, and the U.S. National Arboretum.

2 in the future of ment to apply our knowledge to new relevancy in our mission. This friends to invest urgent societal problems will not goal matches, in today’s dollars, our augmented mission. At a time our world erode in the face of future finan- the aspirations of the Sargent when our children and cial pressures? Memorial Fund sixty-six years look to us for leadership, the chal- As of The is clear and our The Challenge for a New ago. part University lenge obligation Generation Campaign, it reaffirms the vision unambiguous. With this help, we meet this We must look once again to our of our founders and the commit- shall challenge again. friends for help. Our goal is ment of Harvard to it. The Arbo- $8,000,000, to be secured in an retum Campaign calls forth the Adapted from the May l3 Supplement endowment for the service of a confidence and support of our to the Harvard Unzverrity Gazette. First Impressions of the Arnold Arboretum from a Winter Transplant Kim E. Tripp

The very first impression was of snow-deep in spots, and cold down my boots-but definitely not too deep to keep me from tramping (and sliding, slipping, and bumping) along a slick coni- fer path to the firs-firs with whom I had been greatly looking forward to renewing a friendship. That was on the first day, and I finally stood below one of the Abies x umbellata, whose limbs were bowed ever so slightly with that same snow. Snow that, while less than thrilling down my boots, was perfect garb for the striking dimplecone fir. Snow that seemed to somehow stay miraculously new and fresh for weeks (because, in reality, it actually did-I’m cer- tain it snowed at least once a day during my first weeks here). Snow that, after seven years in snowless climes, was nothing less than sheer pleasure to me, even as it hung on in stubborn, dirty lumps, Kim Tripp arrived at the Arboretum in February as a Putnam Fellow melting into April’s mud. The with a two-year appointment to do research, teaching, and writing to us the snow was an old friend made new focused on the Arnold’s living collections. Kim comes from North Carolina State Arboretum where she worked with Dr. again for me by the trees at the University C. Raulston as a research associate. She acquired her Arnold--a kind of arboreal renew- J. postdoctoral Ph.D. in Horticultural Science from North Carolina State and an M.S. in al I keep finding around every Vegetable Crops from Cornell University. She is a researcher with many bend in the collections. living skills and an impressive list of publications. At the Arnold she will be The Arnold Arboretum has a engaged in the evaluation and propagation of selected collections long history of plants and (including Alnus and Cephalotaxus), and in basic plant physiology sinensis. plantspeople, a history that is research. She’s seen above with Cephalotaxus

3 never far from any endeavor here. landscape plants generally bear lovely landscape through which The historical legacy of over 120 little relationship to the environ- one can wander again and again, years of dedicated work by many ments in which those plants origi- from winter through fall, and con- individuals naturally runs the hu- nally evolved and, therefore, can tinue to learn for a lifetime. Old man gamut from bungling to bril- be far more stressful because of giants and young saplings, fond liance, but it is apparent to any those disparities. Simple differ- familiars and exciting unknowns, newcomer that brilliance has more ences, like a plant’s genetic dispo- native groves and exotic speci- often than not won out. As a re- sition to invest more growth in mens, are all growing together to sult, the living collections at the roots than shoot, can allow it to continually re-create this arbore- Arnold are one of the great gifts of thrive in environments fatal to tum. This is a place of great com- that historical legacy to the world. other plants. The living collec- plexity, a place of rich tradition But the Arnold’s living collec- tions of the Arnold offer an unpar- and significant history, of modern tions are much more than a living alleled opportunity to explore challenge and new opportunity, of legacy. As I go off in search of such differences in growth across disciplined research and pure silvan each day’s elusive treasure (I know an astounding breadth of plants, magic-an unforgettable place I that last Cephalotaxus must be both between and within botani- am coming to know as the Arnold. down this path somewhere ... ),I cal families and genera, from an am struck by the sense of newness impressive range of native envi- Spring Planting and ongoing evolution in these ronments. I will be exploring such Peter Del Tredici 265 rolling acres of woody plants. differences in growth in search of It is a sense that comes with the patterns that relate to their perfor- new growth on venerable Picea mance in different environments. wrlsonrr. with freshly dug nursery By increasing our understanding trees stacked ready for planting, of how woody plants survive and with the flats of rare young seed- prosper in managed environments, lings growing on in the green- we improve our chances of carry- house, with each unexpected ing a strong diversity of trees into encounter of the plant kind (Oh! the increasingly stressful and ur- Here’s Styrax obassia!), or with the banized environs of the future. late evening light glowing I have been delighted to dis- through the grove of American cover that the chance to work here beeches. After only a few weeks of offers me excellent access not only Julie Coop and Susan Kelley. exploring the grounds, I have to the living collections them- already found favorite plants and selves, but also to the experienced After the unforgettable winter of places but, all of my efforts to the and insightful staff of the living 1993-94, the staff and grounds contrary, I have only begun to collections-a unique opportunity crew of the Arnold Arboretum scratch the surface of the mind- that has already led to rewarding were particularly anxious to start boggling wealth of plants here. exchanges of ideas and informa- the year’s spring planting. As of It is that mind-boggling tion. In addition, the libraries are this writing, seventy-five new trees wealth of plants that brings some- a world-class resource, where one have been planted on the grounds one like myself to the Arnold. My can easily and happily lose entire with an equal number yet to go efforts to understand the growth days without realizing they have in. We are most excited about the and "behavior" of plants in horti- gone by and where I have found dozen new birches that have been cultural environments, especially time to begin research for some of set out, especially in view of the as relates to their roots, has often my writing projects. tremendous losses we have experi- left me scratching my head over But my first impressions of the enced in that genus over the last the unexpected differences be- Arnold Arboretum invariably two years (seventy-plus trees re- tween very closely related plants come back to the plants, the trees, moved). In terms of impact on the grown in the same environment. the thousands of wonderful collections, devastation of the The environments we create for woodies spread across Olmsted’s birches by the bronze birch borer

4 has been equal to or greater than that of the elms by Dutch elm dis- ease. We wish the new birches a long and fruitful life. Other notable additions to the collections are a small group of tupelos (Nyssa sylvatica) along the southern edge of Dawson Pond, including a rare specimen of Nyssa sylvatzea ‘Pendula’. We’ve also planted two new hardy pecans (Carya illanoensss) as companions to our one lone specimen. Come around in ten or fifteen years, and we’ll have our own sweet pecans to brag about. John Olmsted and John DelRosso pruning a honey locust on Peters Hill.

Jim Nickerson with the debris from the clean-up of Steve Spongberg, Peter Del Tredici, and a newly the Lilac Collection. planted Aesculus x carnea ’Briotii’.

in the From left in front: John Olmsted, Jim Papagiris, Mark Walkama, Julie Coop, Joan Mullins; rear, John DelRosso, Karl Holmes, Pat Willoughby, Bruce Munch, Dennis Harris, Luis Colon, Bob Famiglietti (standing), and Don Garrick. Kenny Clarke, Jim Nickerson, and Maurice Sheehan are missing from the picture.

5 Programs & Events the During summer, the Arnold Arboretum Education Department offers garden visits and tours, short courses in horticulture, and talks on many aspects of gardening. A selection of summer courses is shown here. For a complete catalogue of programs and events at the Arboretum, please call (617) 524-1718, ext. 162. Please note that fees shown in boldface are for members of the Arboretum. For information about becoming a member, please call (617) 524-1718, ext. 165. HOR 330 Perennial Combinations for Summer HOR 110 Fundamentals of Gardening Elise Laurenzz, Garden Designer Laura Eisener, Landscape Designer Learn how to combine perennials for complementary Whether you are a novice starting your first garden texture and color in whether you garden full sun or or an old hand looking for a firmer foundation, this shade. will see how to partial Participants combine practical course will satisfy your quest for basic gar- native with select plants exotics, plants for foliage as dening information. In the four sessions you will well as and choose flowers, plants appropriate for a learn a variety of the basic principles essential to variety of sites. Cultural practices and design tech- good gardening. for low maintenance will niques be discussed. This course will cover basic techniques of gar- Fee: $16.00, $19.00 dening, including: site analysis and soil preparation, Monday, June 20/ 10:00-noon (Case Estates) irrigation, drainage, watermg, plant selection, and horticultural requirements of plants. WAL 133 Private Gardens by the Sea There will be some hands-on work at the site, in Katherine Alexander Field, Landscape Architect addition to lectures and demonstrations. Newport, Rhode Island, has a long and romantic Fee: $85.00, $100.00 garden history. The former estate gardens, with 4 Thursdays, July 7, 14, 21, 28/ 9:00-11:30 am their staffs of gardeners, are largely a thing of the (Case Estates) past, but the Newport tradition of gracious garden- ing remains. Smaller gardens flourish now in the HOR 280 History Underfoot at the Arnold benign Newport climate. In a full day of garden vis- Arboretum its, we will be escorted by Newport-area landscape Richard Schulhof, Assistant Director, Education and architect Kate Field, who will show us lovely pn- Public Affazrs, Arnold Arboretum vate and discuss the gardens, gardening traditions Although best-known for programs of botanical of Newport, past and present. research and extensive collections of plants, the The will be near the of bloom for gardens peak Arnold Arboretum with its 265-acre landscape con- roses as well as the classic of palette perennials. On tains a wealth of human and natural history. Based one of our we stops will enjoy a picnic among the on historical research conducted under a recent flowers, overlooking the sea. A special day for gar- grant from the National Endowment for the Human- den lovers. ities, this class will explore the evolution of the Fee: $110.00, $125.00. Fee includes transporta- plant collections as well as the site’s prehistory and tion and lunch. its role in Native American, Colonial, and Country Friday, June 24/ 8:00 am-6:00 pm. Bus departs Estate periods. Wear comfortable shoes for this vig- from the Arnold Arboretum Main Gates. orous rain-or-shine walk. Fee: $10.00, $12.00 Saturday, July 9/ 10:00 am-12:30 pm (Hunnewell Building and Arboretum grounds)

WAL 110 The Blue Hills - An Author’s Perspective T’homas Palmer, Naturalist and Author of Landscape with Reptile: Rattlesnakes in an Urban World

Question: What do rattlesnakes have m common with the Blue Hills? Answer: Both have been the objects of years of fasci- Rosa rugosa ’Salt Spray’ nated study by author Tom Palmer. Darrell Probst teaching an adult education course in perennials at the Case Estates, Weston. Explore the Blue Hills with this author and Vitex, chaste-tree; Buddleta, butterfly bush; Genz.rta, naturalist who has spent uncountable hours explor- dyer’s greenweed; Clethra. summer-sweet; ing the Hills in search of Crotalus horridus, the tim- Clerodendrum, glorybower; Calluna, heather; and ber rattlesnake. Palmer will lead a walk up his many others. This is an outdoor walking course held favorite peak and share his knowledge of the rain or shine. region’s history, ecology, geology, and folklore and Fee: $21.00, $25.00 perhaps introduce some of its inhabitants. (Rattle- Friday, July 29/ 9:30-noon (Dana Greenhouses) snake sighungs, however, are not likely.) The Blue Hills is a low range of hills just south HOR 136 Ornamental Grasses of Boston. Participants should be prepared for a rig- Darrell R. Probst, Horticultural Consultant and Land- orous walk covering one to two miles of rugged ter- scape Designer a snack a rain. Bring and beverage. Participants may In the diverse world of ornamental grasses exist also wish to a to after the bring picnic supper enjoy plants suitable for gardens of every size and for hike. Meet at Pond in Milton. Direc- Houghton’s sunny, shady, wet, and dry locations. Some grasses tions will be sent with confirmation. registration are so large and dramatic that they can be used as Fee: $12.00, $15.00 shrubs or specimen plantings; others are miniatures, Sunday, July 10/ 3:00-6:30 pm (TBA) at home in the small-scale landscape. Their colors form a rainbow of greens, pinks, creams, blues, HOR 134 Summer Flowering Shrubs golds, and whites. This introduction to decorative Paul Martin Brown, Naturalist and Hortzculturzst grasses will focus on the culture, management, and of these versatile The long hot, humid days of midsummer bring a design potential perennials. will be to the Nurser- wide variety of both color and texture to the shrub Saturday’s field trip Quansett ies in MA. border. Many genera offer unusual species that Westport, deserve consideration in the design of the summer Fee: $48.00, $55.00 garden. This class will focus on the culture and hab- Thursday, August 18/ 6:30-8:30 pm (CE) and itat requirements of a range of mid- and late-summer 1 field trip, Saturday, August 20/ 11:30 am-3:30 flowering shrubs, including Aesculus, dwarf buckeye; pm (TBA)

7 WAL 235 The Rural Landscape and gardens of landscape designer Mane Byrnes. Marie Stella Byrnes, Herb Speeiala.rt and Landscape We will see remnants of the old orchard, along with Designer the currently producing fruit and nut orchard. Gar- den rooms include a white moon a Spend a late-summer weekend enjoying a fascinat- garden, pocket area with an ornamental an herb ing look at the many ways in which farmers and Japanese pool, gar- and a hillside that fruit- craftspeople have made a living under the harsh den, planting incorporates shrubs and conditions of life in western Massachusetts. producing oversized herbs. Farm and Nor- In our two-day visit, we will see a wide variety of Penfrydd grazes llamas, sheep, horses. Colorful and historic farms and rural work-sites, some restored to wegian fjord hand-dyed yarns handwoven blankets are for sale. a previous era, others now serving new horticultural produced Wheel-View a former now a and agricultural uses. Farm, dairy farm, Hall Tavern Farm, the state’s oldest privately bulb and cut-flower nursery. Gladiola, dahlia, canna and crmum lilies are owned tree farm. Produces farm and forestry goods bulbs, ismene, calla, produced for sale. such as specialty paneling and wainscoting. lunch will be served on the of William Cullen Bryant Homestead, a land- Saturday grounds one of our book scape restored to the 1865-78 period. Includes stops. Participants may overnight escorted tour of the house interior. accommodations at nearby bed-and-breakfasts. List Ashfield Stone Quarry. Mica schist, formerly of suggested accommodations will be sent with reg- istration confirmation. quarried by ancient methods, is now quarried with state-of-the-art computerized equipment. Quarriers Fee includes all admissions and Saturday lunch. and stone carvers will be working on the design and Fee: $75.00, $86.00 fabrication of garden ornaments. Saturday, August 27/ 10:00 am-4:30 pm and Kirin Farm, formerly a commercial apple Sunday, August 28! 9:30 am-1:30 pm (TBA, orchard, established in 1820, and now the grounds Charlemont, MA)

New Staff at the Arboretum

ments. She brings several years bridge collection. After years of administrative and secretarial spent in the West he is enjoying experience to her position. A long- the seasons and the deciduous time resident of Boston, Sheila enjoys working with the public and has shared her enthusiasm with many Arboretum visitors this spring.

Paul Groff is the newest curatorial assistant at Harvard University Herbaria. He came last December This past January we were pleased from Berkeley, California, where to welcome Sheila Baskin as the he was working as a music teacher Arboretum’s new secretary, whose and instrument repairman. He has role it is to provide support for the recently been inserting Arnold trees of Massachusetts and looks Public Programs, Development, Arboretum specimens transferred forward to Saturdays in the Arbo- and Living Collections Depart- from Jamaica Plain into the Cam- retum this spring.

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