The Arboretum at Bard College

By Margaret Donsbach Tomlinson

In 2004 Bard College recognized the importance of the many beautiful trees on its campus, some of which date to before its founding in 1860, by hiring professional horticulturist Amy Parrella. Her work and that of Bard alumna and trustee Betsey Ely led to the campus being accredited as an arboretum in 2007.

Perhaps the oldest tree on campus is a red and silver maple hybrid (Acer rubrum x saccharinum); it would have been a century old when the American Revolution began. Many trees native to the Hudson Valley grow at Bard, including American birch (Fagus grandifolia), black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), black maple (Acer nigrum), pin oak (Quercus palustris), red maple (Acer rubrum), sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum), sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) and American larch (Larix laricina).

The trees and other plantings at Bard give students a beautiful and healthful campus. They also serve the general public. To become an accredited arboretum, a site must have at least 25 different species or subspecies of trees and woody shrubs, must have a plan for maintaining and labeling them, and must provide access to the public. Bard is a level II arboretum, with 100 or more labeled species, a formal collections policy, and enhanced educational programs like the Story Stroll, a free meadow walk featuring pages from the children’s book We Are All Wonders by R.J. Palacio posted along a mowed pathway. Its programs also include a trial garden where in 2025 Bard students will begin growing new flower and vegetable varieties to test their suitability for Hudson Valley gardens.

Another new initiative is a Native Plant Propagation Program. Teaming up with Vassar College, Bard will collect and save seeds from its many native trees, shrubs and other plants. Some are rarely available in nurseries today, like black maples (Acer nigrum), whose sap can produce high-quality maple syrup, and black gum trees (Nyssa sylvatica), which offer shade in summer, scarlet fall color, and small blue-black fruits relished by native birds from robins and catbirds to bluebirds and cedar waxwings. Plants from seeds collected at Bard and elsewhere will be grown at Vassar’s new Native Seed Nursery; its goal is to increase the availability of native plants adapted for our Hudson Valley climate and growing conditions. In just a few years, gardeners may be able to find more of these native species in local nurseries.

Members of the public are welcome to visit the Bard campus and arboretum in Annandale-on-Hudson, about 17 miles south of Catskill on the east bank of the Hudson River. Almost 1,200 acres in all, the campus is open daily from sunrise to sunset.

Margaret Donsbach Tomlinson enjoys gardening in Catskill. She also writes a weekly Substack series, The Generous Garden, online at mtomlinson.substack.com.