Rutgers Gardens
Encyclopedia
Rutgers Gardens are horticultural, display, and botanical gardens, including arboretum
s, located on the Cook Campus, Rutgers University
, 112 Ryders Lane, North Brunswick in Middlesex County
, New Jersey
, in the United States
. The gardens are open daily without fee.
The gardens were first established in 1927, and are horticultural collections arranged in garden settings. Current collections include:
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...
s, located on the Cook Campus, Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
, 112 Ryders Lane, North Brunswick in Middlesex County
Middlesex County, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 750,162 people, 265,815 households, and 190,855 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,422 people per square mile . There were 273,637 housing units at an average density of 884 per square mile...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The gardens are open daily without fee.
The gardens were first established in 1927, and are horticultural collections arranged in garden settings. Current collections include:
- American Hollies - according to Rutgers, the largest collection of American HolliesAmerican HollyIlex opaca, the American Holly, is a species of holly, native to the eastern United States, from coastal Massachusetts south to central Florida, and west to southeastern Missouri and eastern Texas.-Description:...
in the world, including selections from Dr. Elwin Orton's Ilex opaca breeding programs.
- Bamboo Forest - a large grove of evergreen bambooBambooBamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
(PhyllostachysPhyllostachysPhyllostachys is a genus of bamboo. The species are native to Asia with a large number of species found in Central China, but can now be found in many temperate and semi-tropical areas around the world as cultivated plants or escapes from cultivation...
nuda), originally planted in the 1950s, with a winding path by a small stream.
- Donald B. Lacey Display Garden - unusual and colorful annualsAnnual plantAn annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
, tropicals, herbHerbExcept in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
s, and vegetableVegetableThe noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
s.
- Ella Quimby Water Conservation Terrace Gardens - demonstration of drought-tolerant plants, including AmorphaAmorphaAmorpha is a genus of plants in the pea family Fabaceae. All the species are native to North America, from southern Canada, most of the United States, and northern Mexico. They are commonly known as false indigo...
canescens, BerberisBerberisBerberis , the barberries or pepperidge bushes, is a genus of about 450-500 species of deciduous and evergreen shrubs from 1-5 m tall with thorny shoots, native to the temperate and subtropical regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and South America. They are closely related to the genus...
, CeanothusCeanothusCeanothus L. is a genus of about 50–60 species of shrubs or small trees in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. The genus is confined to North America, the center of its distribution in California, with some species in the eastern United States and southeast Canada, and others extending as far south...
americanus, HypericumHypericumHypericum is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Hypericaceae ....
'Hidcote', Juniperus, and Hylotelephium telephiumHylotelephium telephiumHylotelephium telephium is succulent perennial groundcover of the family Crassulaceae native to Eurasia. The flowers are held in dense heads and can be reddish or yellowish-white...
(formerly Sedum) 'Autumn Joy'.
- Ornamental Tree Collection - unusual small trees, including India Quassiawood (PicrasmaPicrasmaPicrasma is a genus of flowering plants in the family Simaroubaceae, comprising six to nine species native to temperate to tropical regions of Asia, and tropical regions of the Americas. The species are shrubs and trees growing up to 20 m tall....
ailanthoides), the state's largest Paperbark Maple (Acer griseum), a very large Persian Ironwood (Parrotia persica), and a fine Cornus kousa var. chinensis.
- Rhododendron and Azalea Garden - small trees and groundcovers, with a variety of shrubs focusing on rhododendronRhododendronRhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
s. The collection started in the 1930s and now includes Cornus kousa, Davidia involucrata, MetasequoiaMetasequoiaMetasequoia is a fast-growing, deciduous tree, and the sole living species, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, is one of three species of conifers known as redwoods. It is native to the Sichuan-Hubei region of China. Although the least tall of the redwoods, it grows to at least 200 feet in height...
glyptostroboides, and RhododendronRhododendronRhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
mucronulatum.
- Roy H. De Boer Evergreen Garden (1958) - fine specimens of Pinus strobus 'Pendula', TsugaTsugaTsuga is a genus of conifers in the family Pinaceae. The common name hemlock is derived from a perceived similarity in the smell of its crushed foliage to that of the unrelated plant poison hemlock....
canadensis 'Sargentii', and many other cedarsCedar woodCedar wood comes from several different trees that grow in different parts of the world, and may have different uses.* California incense-cedar, from Calocedrus decurrens, is the primary type of wood used for making pencils...
, pinePinePines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
s, spruceSpruceA spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
s, and firFirFirs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...
s.
- Shade Tree Collection - many mature shade trees, including AesculusAesculusThe genus Aesculus comprises 13-19 species of woody trees and shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere, with 6 species native to North America and 7-13 species native to Eurasia; there are also several hybrids. Species are deciduous or evergreen...
, ToonaToonaToona is a genus of five species of trees in the mahogany family, Meliaceae, native from Afghanistan south to India, and east to North Korea, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia...
sinensis, TetradiumTetradiumTetradium is a genus of nine species of trees in the family Rutaceae, occurring in temperate to tropical east Asia. In older books, the genus was often included in the related genus Euodia , but that genus is now restricted to tropical species...
hupehensis, FagusBeechBeech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
, Quercus dentata, TiliaTiliaTilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The greatest species diversity is found in Asia, and the genus also occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but not western North America...
, and Ulmus specimens.
- Shrub Collection - hybrid and species lilacs (dating from 1927) and other shrubs, including Buddleia alternifolia, CorylopsisCorylopsisCorylopsis is a genus of nearly 30 species of shrubs in the witch hazel family, Hamamelidaceae, native to eastern Asia with the majority of species endemic in China but with some also in Japan, Korea, and the Himalaya...
spicata, Diervilla lonicera, and Hamamelis vernalis. The garden also includes two notable trees: MagnoliaMagnoliaMagnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol....
kobus and MagnoliaMagnoliaMagnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol....
virginiana.
Landmarks
- Log Cabin - The Log Cabin was built in 1936 by the Works Progress AdministrationWorks Progress AdministrationThe Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
(WPA). Today it is actively used for receptions and other events in the gardens. The log cabin overlooks the Westons Mill PondWestons Mill PondThe Westons Mill Pond is a dammed section of the Lawrence Brook located in East Brunswick, New Jersey, United States. It is one of a series of dams on the Lawrence Brook. The Westons Mill Pond Dam is the dam that controls reservoir output.-The dam:...
, a section of the Lawrence BrookLawrence BrookLawrence Brook is a tributary of the Raritan River. Its entire course is in Middlesex County, New Jersey in the United States.-Course:Originally a stream, its course now includes man-made lakes created by dams built in the 19th and 20th centuries: Deans Pond , Davidsons Mill Pond , Farrington Lake...
.
History
- The Gardens were created in 1927.
- The name of Rutgers Gardens is strongly associated with that of "Doc" Hamilton. In the 1990s, despite strong opposition, Rutgers, the New Jersey State University, planned to sell Rutgers Gardens for urban development; the Garden State was about to destroy some of its own most valuable gardens. In 1993, Dr. Bruce Hamilton, Rutgers professor, accepted responsibility for directing the Gardens' management and funding. Thanks to his outstanding dedication, to generous supporters and to the work of many volunteers, the Gardens survived for everybody's enjoyment. Without his efforts, the Gardens, the native forest, the brook near the bamboo forest and many natural features would likely be severely impaired or nonexistent today.
- Rutgers Gardens is now managed by its director, Bruce Crawford, and the faculty director, Dean Cardasis from Rutgers' Department of Landscape Architecture.