The Landscape Architect’s Guide to

Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University

Your Guide

Established in 1872, the Arnold Arboretum, North America’s first public arboretum, is open daily to the public. There's no admission charge. Guided tours and self guided tours are available.

The land was deeded to Boston in 1882 and incorporated into the "Emerald Necklace." The city of Boston owns the site, and it's managed by Harvard University under a 1,000-year lease.

Today, the Arboretum is both a living museum dedicated to the study and appreciation of woody plants and a landscape enjoyed by all. Peters Hill, the highest point in the Emerald Necklace, provides a great view of the Boston skyline.

A range of designers and firms have worked on the Arboretum over the years, including Charles Sprague Sargent, Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr., Charles Eliot, Henry Sargent Codman, H.H. Richardson, Arthur Asahel Shurcliff (Shurtleff), Sidney Nichols Shurcliff, and Sasaki Associates.

Learn more about the history of the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University.

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Map of Proposed Arboretum, 1879

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Plan of the Connecting Parkway, 1892

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Arnold Arboretum Arborway Entrance

Originally designed in collaboration by Frederick Law Olmsted and Charles Sprague Sargent, the Arboretum’s current 281 acres provide a naturalistic setting for displaying plants in rolling lawns, wet meadows, forests, and ponds, as well as more structured landscapes, such as the Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection and the Leventritt Shrub and Vine Garden, a collection set on walled terraces.

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Roses in Bloom on the Main Drive, 1925

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Hunnewell Visitor Center and Library Today

The Hunnewell Building at the Arborway Gate is a visitor center with changing art exhibitions, in addition to a horticultural library that has an archive with a historic image collection.

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The Meadow

The Arboretum's living permanent collection of more than 3,954 different types of plants has been available online since 2012 as the “Living Collections." It's one of the best-documented collections in the country.

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Main Drive

Interactive maps of the collections are also available online. The Arboretum Explorer, a mobile web application, was launched in 2013.

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Leventritt Shrub and Vine Garden

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North Woods

Image: Marion Pressley