Marsh Botanical Garden
Encyclopedia
The Marsh Botanical Garden (8 acres) is a botanical 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...
, arboretum
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 greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
s located on the Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
campus at 277 Mansfield Street, New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, USA.
The Garden began in 1899 when paleontologist Othniel Marsh (Yale B.A. 1860) bequeathed his home
Othniel C. Marsh House
Marsh Hall, formally known as Othniel C. Marsh House, is a historic house at 360 Prospect Street on Prospect Hill in New Haven, Connecticut. The property, which includes the house and a area, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965....
, grounds, greenhouses and plant collections to the University. The botanical garden was designed by landscape architect Beatrix Farrand
Beatrix Farrand
Beatrix Jones Farrand was a landscape gardener and landscape architect in the United States. Her career included commissions to design the gardens for private residences, estates and country homes, public parks, botanic gardens, college campuses, and the White House.Farrand was one of the founding...
during the 1920s and 1930s as part of her design for the Yale campus. Today the Garden supports research and instruction, and is a public greenspace. Only remnants of Farrand's design remain, although restoration work has begun. The greenhouses contain 2,000 orchids, an extensive collection of plants from tropical regions and arid climates, and an insectivorous collection.
The property as a whole, including the Othniel C. Marsh House
Othniel C. Marsh House
Marsh Hall, formally known as Othniel C. Marsh House, is a historic house at 360 Prospect Street on Prospect Hill in New Haven, Connecticut. The property, which includes the house and a area, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965....
building which is architecturally significant, is a U.S. National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.