Leila Arboretum
Encyclopedia
The Leila Arboretum 72 acres (291,000 m²) is an arboretum
and garden located at 928 West Michigan Avenue, Battle Creek, Michigan
. It is open to the public.
The Arboretum’s collections include nearly 1,700 accessioned woody plants and about 25,000 total plants, comprising trees, shrubs, and perennial and annual plantings laid out in the manner of European gardens. Many plantings date back to the 1920s. Recently the Arboretum has focused on increasing the diversity of woody plants and developing demonstration gardens including a lilac
garden, perennial walkway, native plant garden, and labyrinth
. Perennial gardens feature daylilies
, purple coneflower
s, and daisies
; the annual flower displays include a yearly planting of some 7,000 spring bulbs including tulip
s and daffodils, as well as approximately 5,000 annuals and 1,500 chrysanthemum
s. In addition, Kingman Museum
, a natural history museum and planetarium, is located on the Arboretum grounds.
The Leila Arboretum dates back to 1922 when Leila Post Montgomery, widow of breakfast cereal magnate C. W. Post
, purchased 72 acres (291,000 m²) of an old country club and donated the land to the City of Battle Creek “to be laid out and improved as a public Arboretum...”. This gift was part of the larger vision of Edward M. Brigham who started planning an educational campus consisting of a museum, an historical building for the Battle Creek Historical Society, a fine arts building, a hall of music, and a lyceum (lecture hall) building. Mrs. Charles E. Kolb, W. I. Fell and Burritt Hamilton donated additional land, and the combined property, which became known as Leila Arboretum, was designed and developed by T. Clifton Shepard between 1924 and 1930. However, the Depression soon overshadowed these plans and the gardens fell into great disrepair. They were finally revived in 1982 by a band of volunteers who styled themselves the Leila Arboretum Society and who set about the ultimately successful task of reclaiming the fine landscapes hidden under years of overgrown brush.
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
and garden located at 928 West Michigan Avenue, Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Calhoun county...
. It is open to the public.
The Arboretum’s collections include nearly 1,700 accessioned woody plants and about 25,000 total plants, comprising trees, shrubs, and perennial and annual plantings laid out in the manner of European gardens. Many plantings date back to the 1920s. Recently the Arboretum has focused on increasing the diversity of woody plants and developing demonstration gardens including a lilac
Lilac
Syringa is a genus of about 20–25 species of flowering woody plants in the olive family , native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and widely and commonly cultivated in temperate areas elsewhere....
garden, perennial walkway, native plant garden, and labyrinth
Labyrinth
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos...
. Perennial gardens feature daylilies
Daylily
Daylily is the general nonscientific name of a species, hybrid or cultivar of the genus Hemerocallis . Daylily cultivar flowers are highly diverse in colour and form, as a result of hybridization efforts of gardening enthusiasts and professional horticulturalists...
, purple coneflower
Coneflower
Coneflower is a common name of at least four genera of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae:*Dracopis*Echinacea*Rudbeckia*Ratibida...
s, and daisies
Asteraceae
The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...
; the annual flower displays include a yearly planting of some 7,000 spring bulbs including tulip
Tulip
The tulip is a perennial, bulbous plant with showy flowers in the genus Tulipa, which comprises 109 species and belongs to the family Liliaceae. The genus's native range extends from as far west as Southern Europe, North Africa, Anatolia, and Iran to the Northwest of China. The tulip's centre of...
s and daffodils, as well as approximately 5,000 annuals and 1,500 chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemums, often called mums or chrysanths, are of the genus constituting approximately 30 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Asteraceae which is native to Asia and northeastern Europe.-Etymology:...
s. In addition, Kingman Museum
Kingman Museum
Kingman Museum is a natural history museum and planetarium located at 175 Limit Street, on the grounds of Leila Arboretum, in Battle Creek, Michigan, USA...
, a natural history museum and planetarium, is located on the Arboretum grounds.
The Leila Arboretum dates back to 1922 when Leila Post Montgomery, widow of breakfast cereal magnate C. W. Post
C. W. Post
Charles William Post , also known as C.W. Post, was an American breakfast cereal and foods manufacturer and a pioneer in the prepared-food industry.-Biography:...
, purchased 72 acres (291,000 m²) of an old country club and donated the land to the City of Battle Creek “to be laid out and improved as a public Arboretum...”. This gift was part of the larger vision of Edward M. Brigham who started planning an educational campus consisting of a museum, an historical building for the Battle Creek Historical Society, a fine arts building, a hall of music, and a lyceum (lecture hall) building. Mrs. Charles E. Kolb, W. I. Fell and Burritt Hamilton donated additional land, and the combined property, which became known as Leila Arboretum, was designed and developed by T. Clifton Shepard between 1924 and 1930. However, the Depression soon overshadowed these plans and the gardens fell into great disrepair. They were finally revived in 1982 by a band of volunteers who styled themselves the Leila Arboretum Society and who set about the ultimately successful task of reclaiming the fine landscapes hidden under years of overgrown brush.
See also
- The Leila Arboretum Society website: http://www.leilaarboretumsociety.org/