Berry Botanic Garden
Encyclopedia
Berry Botanic Garden is a botanical garden
in southwest Portland, Oregon
, in the United States
. In addition to large collections of alpine plant
s, rhododendron
s, primula
s, lilies
, it is known for its plant-conservation program and its large seed bank
that protects rare or endangered
plants of the Pacific Northwest
. The seed bank, formally established in 1983, was thought to be the first in the U.S. that was devoted entirely to preserving rare native plants. Berry Botanic Garden is open to public visits, but a reservation is required.
The garden, created in the 1930s by Portland
resident Rae Selling Berry, was bought after her death in 1976 by The Friends of Berry Botanic Garden, a nonprofit corporation. Managed by The Friends, the Berry estate has an area of 6.5 acres (26,304.6 m²), and contains the largest public rock garden on the West Coast
.
In January 2010, The Friends announced plans to sell the property and close the garden because of funding problems. Until the property sells, which may take up to a year, the group plans to transfer its conservation program and the seed bank to the Environmental Science and Management program at Portland State University
.
, Francis Ludlow and George Sherriff, and Joseph Rock
. She also collected alpine plants herself from the mountains of the Western United States
, British Columbia
, and Alaska
. In 1938 she established the garden's current site, and the garden became a public, nonprofit organization in 1978. She had a two-story Bungalow style home built at the location in 1939, which was designed by Reuben T. Sinex.
Berry, the daughter of Ben Selling
and Mathilda Hess, grew up in Portland and married Alfred Berry, a contractor who became the superintendent of Portland International Airport
. For more than 30 years, the couple and their three children lived in northeast Portland's Irvington
neighborhood, where Berry developed an interest in plants. Reading about plant expeditions to Europe and Asia, she began to provide financial support for the expeditions and through them to obtain seeds. By the mid-1930s, Berry had run out of room for her plants in Irvington, and the couple moved to "a bowl-shaped site nestled near the top of a hill". The property, just north of Lake Oswego
, included springs and creeks, a ravine, a meadow, and a cattail
marsh, and was partly covered with second-growth Douglas-fir
.
In developing the garden, Berry focused on "exceptional plants", particularly rhododendrons, primulas, and alpines. In 1964, the Garden Club of America awarded her the Florens de Bevoise Medal for her knowledge of plants. In 1965, she won the American Rhododendron Society's first Award of Excellence given to a woman, and she was honored for her work by the American Rock Garden Society. Berry continued to expand her collection past the age of 80, taking field trips in search of Oregon's only primrose, Primula cusickiana (Cusick's Primrose). At age 90, she was still planting seeds in the gardens, and died at home at age 96.
In 1978, two years after Berry's death, The Friends of The Berry Botanic Garden, a nonprofit corporation, bought the estate. Donations to a $300,000 fund drive to make the purchase possible included $10,000 from the Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust in Scotland
as well as support from plant societies, the American Rhododendron Society, and the Oregon branch of The Nature Conservancy
. The Friends stated mission was "to preserve, maintain, disseminate, study and add appropriate plant material to the collections."
By 1983, the discovery that 39 native species in the garden were rare or endangered species led to the creation of the Seed Bank for Rare and Endangered Species of the Pacific Northwest. This was thought to be the first seed bank in the U.S. devoted entirely to preserving rare native plants. The seed bank consists of more than 14,000 accessions (packages of seed) from more than 300 rare or endangered plants of the Pacific Northwest.
The garden and home at the garden were added to the National Register of Historic Places
in December 2002 as the Rae Selling Berry Garden and House. In January 2010, The Friends, citing financial problems, decided to sell the garden but to preserve the conservation program with help from Portland State University (PSU). Although the final arrangements with PSU must wait until the garden is sold, the plan is to transfer the conservation efforts and seed bank to the university's Environmental Science and Management program. Meanwhile, the garden remains open to the public (by reservation). The Friends say that finding a buyer may take several months or perhaps even a year.
s. Primroses are found mainly in mountainous parts of the Northern Hemisphere
. Berry produced several varieties of her own including "Snow Lady" and "Purple Spark".
Another major collection consists of high-mountain alpine and subalpine
plants. Keeping the most delicate specimens in cold frame
s or in log beds behind the house, Berry expanded her collection through exchanges with other gardeners, her own expeditions, and from plant explorers in Asia. The log-bed section of the garden gave way after 1980 to a rock garden with an alpine bog
. Insiders' Guide to Portland calls it "the largest public rock garden on the West Coast".
Rhododendrons make up a third major collection. Many of the seeds, acquired from plant explorers in Asia, began their lives on the Irvington property and were transplanted to the garden. Berry's collection grew to include more than 2,000 specimens representing 160 species. Dwarf species grow in the rock garden, and two species, R. decorum and R. calophytum, form a forest of more than 150 mature plants.
Native plants from the Pacific Northwest
comprise a fourth major collection, which includes about 200 of the roughly 5,000 native plants in the region. These plants are found in all parts of the garden, especially along a native-plant trail, in the rock garden, and in the water garden
.
Lilies make up a fifth major collection started in 1979 when the garden's board of directors decided to provide sanctuary for many species of the genus Lilium
found in the wild in the Northwest and along the West Coast. The lilies are stored as seed or planted in suitable locations throughout the garden.
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
in southwest Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In addition to large collections of alpine plant
Alpine plant
Alpine plants are plants that grow in the alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. Alpine plants grow together as a plant community in alpine tundra.-Alpine plant diversity:...
s, rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
s, primula
Primula
Primula is a genus of 400–500 species of low-growing herbs in the family Primulaceae. They include primrose, auricula, cowslip and oxlip. Many species are grown for their ornamental flowers...
s, lilies
Lilium
Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs. Most species are native to the temperate northern hemisphere, though the range extends into the northern subtropics...
, it is known for its plant-conservation program and its large seed bank
Seedbank
A seedbank stores seeds as a source for planting in case seed reserves elsewhere are destroyed. It is a type of gene bank. The seeds stored may be food crops, or those of rare species to protect biodiversity. The reasons for storing seeds may be varied...
that protects rare or endangered
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
plants of the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
. The seed bank, formally established in 1983, was thought to be the first in the U.S. that was devoted entirely to preserving rare native plants. Berry Botanic Garden is open to public visits, but a reservation is required.
The garden, created in the 1930s by Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
resident Rae Selling Berry, was bought after her death in 1976 by The Friends of Berry Botanic Garden, a nonprofit corporation. Managed by The Friends, the Berry estate has an area of 6.5 acres (26,304.6 m²), and contains the largest public rock garden on the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
.
In January 2010, The Friends announced plans to sell the property and close the garden because of funding problems. Until the property sells, which may take up to a year, the group plans to transfer its conservation program and the seed bank to the Environmental Science and Management program at Portland State University
Portland State University
Portland State University is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1946, it has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon, including undergraduate and graduate students. It is also the only public university in...
.
History
The garden began in the 1930s as the personal collection of Rae Selling Berry (1881–1976), who obtained seeds from plant explorers including Frank Kingdon-WardFrank Kingdon-Ward
Francis Kingdon-Ward, born Francis Kingdon Ward was an English botanist, explorer, plant collector and author. He published most of his books as Frank Kingdon-Ward and this hyphenated form of his name stuck, becoming the surname of his wives and two daughters...
, Francis Ludlow and George Sherriff, and Joseph Rock
Joseph Rock
Joseph Francis Charles Rock was an Austrian-American explorer, geographer, linguist and botanist.-Life:He was born in Vienna, Austria, but emigrated to the United States in 1905 and moved to Honolulu, Hawaii in 1907, where he eventually became an authority on the flora there...
. She also collected alpine plants herself from the mountains of the Western United States
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, and Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. In 1938 she established the garden's current site, and the garden became a public, nonprofit organization in 1978. She had a two-story Bungalow style home built at the location in 1939, which was designed by Reuben T. Sinex.
Berry, the daughter of Ben Selling
Ben Selling
Ben Selling was a businessman, philanthropist, civil rights advocate, and politician Portland, Oregon, United States. He was a noted leader in the Jewish community, and he owned a clothing store in downtown Portland....
and Mathilda Hess, grew up in Portland and married Alfred Berry, a contractor who became the superintendent of Portland International Airport
Portland International Airport
Portland International Airport is a joint civil-military airport and the largest airport in the U.S. state of Oregon, accounting for 90% of passenger travel and more than 95% of air cargo of the state. It is located within Portland's city limits just south of the Columbia River in Multnomah...
. For more than 30 years, the couple and their three children lived in northeast Portland's Irvington
Irvington, Portland, Oregon
Irvington is a neighborhood in the Northeast section of Portland, Oregon. According to the city's Office of Neighborhood Involvement, it consists of a rectanglar area extending east to west from NE 7th Ave. to NE 26th Ave., and north to south from NE Fremont St. to NE Broadway...
neighborhood, where Berry developed an interest in plants. Reading about plant expeditions to Europe and Asia, she began to provide financial support for the expeditions and through them to obtain seeds. By the mid-1930s, Berry had run out of room for her plants in Irvington, and the couple moved to "a bowl-shaped site nestled near the top of a hill". The property, just north of Lake Oswego
Lake Oswego, Oregon
Lake Oswego is a city located primarily in Clackamas County in the U.S. state of Oregon. Small portions of the city are also located in neighboring Multnomah and Washington counties. Located south of Portland surrounding the Oswego Lake, the town was founded in 1847 and incorporated as Oswego in...
, included springs and creeks, a ravine, a meadow, and a cattail
Typha
Typha is a genus of about eleven species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. The genus has a largely Northern Hemisphere distribution, but is essentially cosmopolitan, being found in a variety of wetland habitats...
marsh, and was partly covered with second-growth Douglas-fir
Douglas-fir
Douglas-fir is one of the English common names for evergreen coniferous trees of the genus Pseudotsuga in the family Pinaceae. Other common names include Douglas tree, and Oregon pine. There are five species, two in western North America, one in Mexico, and two in eastern Asia...
.
In developing the garden, Berry focused on "exceptional plants", particularly rhododendrons, primulas, and alpines. In 1964, the Garden Club of America awarded her the Florens de Bevoise Medal for her knowledge of plants. In 1965, she won the American Rhododendron Society's first Award of Excellence given to a woman, and she was honored for her work by the American Rock Garden Society. Berry continued to expand her collection past the age of 80, taking field trips in search of Oregon's only primrose, Primula cusickiana (Cusick's Primrose). At age 90, she was still planting seeds in the gardens, and died at home at age 96.
In 1978, two years after Berry's death, The Friends of The Berry Botanic Garden, a nonprofit corporation, bought the estate. Donations to a $300,000 fund drive to make the purchase possible included $10,000 from the Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
as well as support from plant societies, the American Rhododendron Society, and the Oregon branch of The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
. The Friends stated mission was "to preserve, maintain, disseminate, study and add appropriate plant material to the collections."
By 1983, the discovery that 39 native species in the garden were rare or endangered species led to the creation of the Seed Bank for Rare and Endangered Species of the Pacific Northwest. This was thought to be the first seed bank in the U.S. devoted entirely to preserving rare native plants. The seed bank consists of more than 14,000 accessions (packages of seed) from more than 300 rare or endangered plants of the Pacific Northwest.
The garden and home at the garden were added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in December 2002 as the Rae Selling Berry Garden and House. In January 2010, The Friends, citing financial problems, decided to sell the garden but to preserve the conservation program with help from Portland State University (PSU). Although the final arrangements with PSU must wait until the garden is sold, the plan is to transfer the conservation efforts and seed bank to the university's Environmental Science and Management program. Meanwhile, the garden remains open to the public (by reservation). The Friends say that finding a buyer may take several months or perhaps even a year.
Collections
The garden has continued to develop since it became a nonprofit organization. Its major collections include primulas (commonly called primroses), many of which started from seeds from Asian plant expeditions augmented by international seed exchangeSeed swap
Seed swaps are events where gardeners meet to exchange seeds. Swapping can be arranged online or by mail, especially when participants are spread out geographically. Swap meet events, where growers meet and exchange their excess seeds in person, are also growing in popularity. In part this is due...
s. Primroses are found mainly in mountainous parts of the Northern Hemisphere
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
. Berry produced several varieties of her own including "Snow Lady" and "Purple Spark".
Another major collection consists of high-mountain alpine and subalpine
Subalpine
The subalpine zone is the biotic zone immediately below tree line around the world. Species that occur in this zone depend on the location of the zone on the Earth, for example, Snow Gum in Australia, or Subalpine Larch, Mountain Hemlock and Subalpine Fir in western North America.Trees in the...
plants. Keeping the most delicate specimens in cold frame
Cold frame
In agriculture and gardening, a cold frame is a transparent-roofed enclosure, built low to the ground, used to protect plants from cold weather. The transparent top admits sunlight and prevents heat escape via convection that would otherwise occur, particularly at night...
s or in log beds behind the house, Berry expanded her collection through exchanges with other gardeners, her own expeditions, and from plant explorers in Asia. The log-bed section of the garden gave way after 1980 to a rock garden with an alpine bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
. Insiders' Guide to Portland calls it "the largest public rock garden on the West Coast".
Rhododendrons make up a third major collection. Many of the seeds, acquired from plant explorers in Asia, began their lives on the Irvington property and were transplanted to the garden. Berry's collection grew to include more than 2,000 specimens representing 160 species. Dwarf species grow in the rock garden, and two species, R. decorum and R. calophytum, form a forest of more than 150 mature plants.
Native plants from the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
comprise a fourth major collection, which includes about 200 of the roughly 5,000 native plants in the region. These plants are found in all parts of the garden, especially along a native-plant trail, in the rock garden, and in the water garden
Water garden
Water gardens, also known as aquatic gardens, are a type of man-made water feature. A water garden is defined as any interior or exterior landscape or architectural element whose primarily purpose is to house, display, or propagate a particular species or variety of aquatic plant...
.
Lilies make up a fifth major collection started in 1979 when the garden's board of directors decided to provide sanctuary for many species of the genus Lilium
Lilium
Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs. Most species are native to the temperate northern hemisphere, though the range extends into the northern subtropics...
found in the wild in the Northwest and along the West Coast. The lilies are stored as seed or planted in suitable locations throughout the garden.
External links
- Berry Botanic Garden - Oregon Field Guide
- Center for Plant Conservation