Arboretum Plant Collections

General Info | Native Plants | Wild Flower Garden
Caroline Black Garden | Connecticut College Campus | Greenhouse

(Click on the image to the left to view a map of the 750 acres of the Connecticut College Arboretum)

The Arboretum Plant collections are broken down into four areas: the Native Plant Collection, the Caroline Black Garden, the Connecticut College Campus, and the Greenhouse. These areas are diverse in size and plant composition and, therefore, offer the student or visitor a varied and enlightening experience with both native and exotic species. The collections contain an incredible diversity of plant life, from the epiphytes and orchids of our tropical greenhouse to the pitcher plants and red maples of our wetlands.

Tthe Native Plant Collection specializes in collecting and displaying trees and shrubs native to eastern North America and hardy in New London. Nearly 300 kinds of woody plants are cultivated on 20 acres between Williams Street and Gallows Lane. The various species take turns displaying their beauty throughout all the seasons: shadbush in April; dogwood and azaleas in May; mountain laurel in June; giant rhododendron, sourwood and sweet pepperbush in July; brilliant autumn foliage in October; evergreens and conifers year-round

The Caroline Black Garden houses a mature collection of ornamental trees and shrubs from all over the world. Established in the 1920s, this garden offers over 180 different taxa of native and exotic ornamental woody plants, including the crimson queen Japanese maple, the Japanese stewardia, fragrant Viburnum, the weeping cherry, and many other specimens of beauty.

The College Campus is another wonderful place to observe unusual tree and shrub plantings. The campus collection currently has 223 taxa of trees and numerous shrubs, and includes the franklin Tree, the Japnese pagoda tree, seven-son flower, Chinese witchhazel, as well as many other trees of interest and beauty. The greenhouse is also located on the campus.

Top