Science & Nature: Summer sun brings blooms and beauty to the arboretums and lush gardens throughout the state.

Science and Nature

The Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain, Boston, is an outdoor museum founded in 1872 with extensive collections of woody plants, trees, lilacs, and flowers from around the world. Manicured grounds provide the perfect setting for picnics, walks, or biking along the paved walkways. Boston Public Garden, established in 1837, was the first public botanical garden in the United States. Relish its lagoon, notable trees, and flower beds. Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge is a national historic landmark founded in 1831. Plant species from around the world include Victorian-era plantings, contemporary gardens, and 5,000 trees. Famous residents include architect Charles Bullfinch, artist Winslow Homer and authors Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Oliver Wendell Holmes. At Long Hill, the Sedgwick Garden in Beverly, gardens are divided into different "rooms" separating five spectacular acres of cultivated grounds. You'll find rare and unusual plant species and a variety of trees and shrubs. This former summer home of author Ellery Sedgwick and his wife, horticulturist Mabel Cabot Sedgwick, is flanked by sweeping woodlands and robust orchards. Explore nature and agriculture at Drumlin Farm in Lincoln, run by the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Dig in at the Learning Garden to learn tips about growing vegetables. Plenty of wildlife adorns three miles of walking trails.

The Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden Museum beautifies New Bedford. Since 1834, Victorian-style plantings, ornamental gardens, boxwood rose beds and tulips have complemented the pergola. Plymoth Plantation in Plymouth, a 1627 English Village, lends historical insight into the planting of vegetables and herbs when and where our nation was founded. Watch Wampanoags and Pilgrims tend their gardens. Or take a serene walk through the elegant Hornblower Garden. More than 100 acres of labeled trees and shrubs, beautiful flowers, and sweeping lawns await you at the Heritage Museums & Gardens in Sandwich. Summer boasts brilliant annuals and dazzling daylilies along several miles of passive recreational trails and walking paths; be sure to see the three museums featuring American art. Polly Hill Arboretum in West Tisbury is a horticultural and botanical landmark. Established in 1958, this Eden boasts 20 acres of cultivated landscape and 40 acres of woodlands. Gardens across the island are in full bloom throughout July and August. Tours are provided by the Nantucket Garden Club, which also maintains the historic Hadwen House Garden, the Athenaeum garden/park in the downtown historic district and the seasonally decorated, picturesque Main Street Fountain.

Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston is a 132-acre living museum of plants, woodland trails, and several distinct gardens run by the Worcester County Horticultural Society. Gardening classes are available to help you cultivate your interests, too. Smith College, established in 1875 in Northampton, houses The Botanic Garden and thousands of plants found throughout Smith College's sprawling rural 150-acre campus. The Herbarium flaunts the splendor of 60,000 pressed specimens, proving that beauty endures the test of time. Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory & Gardens in South Deerfield has an 8,000-square-foot glass tropical conservatory, home to nearly 4,000 free-fluttering butterflies from all over the world. A heart-shaped pond with Japanese koi and a waterfall provide a serene background. Berkshire Botanical Garden, nestled in the scenic Berkshire Hills in Stockbridge, has 15 acres of colorful perennial and annual gardens, herbs, ponds, vegetable gardens, and greenhouses.

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