Level III

The Paris Arboretum (Aboretum de Paris) is one of the four sites that form together the “Jardin Botanique de Paris. The Arboretum is located south of central Paris, within the south-east corner of the Bois de Vincennes. It is a great place to discover nature and peace within the hussle-bussle of the city. The Arboretum is beautifully situated amongst restored meadows, wetlands and wooded hedges of native shrubs that harbor many wildlife species. The Arboretum actively seeks to conserve woody plants adapted to the regional climate and includes over 600 taxa of which most are native trees of France and Europe.

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Arboretum Volčji Potok is Slovenia’s foremost botanical park, located near Ljubljana and spanning 85 hectares of gardens, meadows, and woodlands. It holds over 3,500 species and cultivars of trees and shrubs, with particularly strong collections of maples (Acer spp.), magnolias (Magnolia spp.), and conifers from around the world. Seasonal highlights—such as spring tulip displays, blooming rhododendrons, and striking autumn foliage—draw thousands of visitors annually.

The historical core of the arboretum was formed in the early 20th century on the grounds of a former mansion. Some of the most remarkable specimens include a dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) with the world record for the largest published girth, measuring 657 cm (in 2021), a 250-year-old small-leaved linden (Tilia cordata), a row of European beeches (Fagus sylvatica) over 230 years old, and some of the tallest tulip trees (Liriodendron tulipifera) and red oaks (Quercus rubra) in Europe.

Founded as a public institute in 1952, the arboretum has long focused on ornamental woody plants, while increasingly emphasizing biodiversity, conservation and climate resilience. The Trees for the Future collection features species selected for drought and heat tolerance, and a new project is underway to cultivate native Slovenian woody species from local seed sources. In 2017, the arboretum also established a growing collection of 250 Eastern European rose varieties as part of its role in hosting a regional WFRS convention.

The arboretum also plays an essential educational role, offering learning programs and resources for students, researchers, and visitors of all ages. Through thoughtful stewardship, we aim to cultivate a deeper appreciation for the importance of plants in our environment.

Green-Wood, a National Historic Landmark, was founded in 1838 and recognized as a place of beauty and abiding tranquility.  Its founder, Henry Pierrepont selected Green-Wood’s name, “indicating that it should always remain a scene of rural quiet and beauty and leafiness”. Since Green-Wood’s founding, Brooklyn’s population has increased almost fifty-fold (to two million), yet Green-Wood has still upheld Mr. Pierrepont’s vision. By the 1860s, Green-Wood had an international reputation for its magnificent beauty and had established itself as the prestigious place to be buried. Crowds flocked to Green-Wood, an enhanced natural oasis, to enjoy family outings, carriage rides and sculpture viewing in an age that pre-dated public parks, museums, and river bridges.

One of the first rural American cemeteries, Green-Wood was founded on the premise that a cemetery should be a serene and beautiful place for the living and a dignified place for the disposition of the dead. Its 478 acres are a remarkable survivor of the 19th Century and comprise one of the oldest landscapes in New York City. Today, it is still an active cemetery, and receives over 250,000 visitors annually to experience the beautiful landscape, the views of New York Harbor, and the magnificent collections of 19th- and 20th-century sculptures, architecture and the living collection of trees. Green-Wood’s unparalleled tree collection (nearly 8,000) is a result of early conservation and continuous planting through its history.

Pruhonice Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site is operated by the Institute of Botany of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.  This landscape park occupies 250 hectares and houses an extraordinary collection of woody species both domestic and exotic.  The natural park was founded in 1885 by Count Silva-Tarouca.  He combined woody plants, groups of trees, and bushes with meadows, ponds, streams, and their dead meanders.  He used the spectrum of various woody plants in different seasons of the year with great skill.  The result of his lifelong hard work is an original masterpiece of garden landscape architecture that is of worldwide importance. The park has valuable dendrological importance with about 1,800 species of local and exotic plants.  In total, there are about 3,000 taxons including herbaceous plants.

Both groups of woody plants vary in their usage due to their different morphological structure, site requirements, and also by their aesthetical impression. Although evergreen trees are not so numerous in this particular collection, they noticeably influence the character of lots of park areas in Průhonice. From the dendrologic point of view, it is possible to admire plenty of beautiful old native woody plants such as oaks, pines, lindens and elms. The collection of exotic woody plants of the mild climate of the Northern hemisphere and the Mediterranean are especially rich here. They enable us to perceive not only their loveliness, but they also bring us knowledge about their character and the possibilities of growing them in our country.

The Dendrological Garden is the experimental site of the Silva Tarouca Research Institute for Landscape and Ornamental Gardening, a public research institute. It was established to collect and maintain plant collections, their documentation and studies, with emphasis on the use of individual species in garden and landscape design. With the Garden‘s activities in the areas of taxonomy, plant conservation, education and public awareness it fulfills the mission of a classic botanical garden but one that also has research activities in a wider sphere focusing on the environment.  

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The Dunedin Botanic Garden is New Zealand’s oldest. It was established in 1863 and is just two kilometres from the centre of the city. Extending over 30 hectares, there are more than 6,800 plant species. The garden forms part of Dunedin’s Town Belt - a green section that surrounds the inner city.

There are two parts to the garden - an upper hillside section, and a lower section on the river plain below. Plant collections are displayed in a range of settings from traditional and formal, to more of a woodland garden native bush arrangement.

A mature arboretum bridges the gap between upper and lower garden. It has a distinctive collection of older conifers, some dating from the 1870s. They were planted as a trial for the early city settlers to see what species worked well in the new country. These days, younger deciduous plantings are maturing, providing a gentle complement to the conifers.

Since July 2010 the Dunedin Botanic Garden has held the highest rating of the New Zealand Gardens Trust, becoming one of only five national gardens to be awarded the honour. The Trust’s six-star international category is designed to recognise New Zealand’s most outstanding gardens, and Dunedin Botanic Garden gained points for horticultural expertise, design and flow.

The Donald E. Davis Davis Arboretum is a collection of the native plants of the Southeastern US. It is a part of Auburn University’s Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Science and Mathematics. The Arboretum is situated on 14 acres of the University’s main campus and is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. The garden has a strong focus on Alabama’s plants and natural habitats. The core collections of the Arboretum include oaks, carnivorous plants and native azaleas. The Arboretum is actively involved in plant conservation through the Alabama Plant Conservation Alliance. The Arboretum has become a showcase for sustainable practices on campus including stormwater management. The Arboretum contains a branch of Town Creek that winds through the garden and is connected to a wide floodplain. Installations throughout the Arboretum teach patrons how the water is cared for using including raingardens, dry streambeds, berms, swales, pervious concrete, interpretative signage and a stormwater cellphone tour.

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The history of Arboretum Kalmthout goes back as far as 1856, when the Antwerp dendrologist Charles Van Geert started a proving ground in Kalmthout for his nursery in Antwerp. It remained a nursery until 1952, when the brothers Georges and Robert De Belder bought the site to create their private botanical garden there. Since 30 years it is one of the 20 provincial parks of the Antwerp province.

The Arboretum Kalmthout covers 12,5 hectares and hosts a living plant collection with more than 4.000 different taxa (species, varieties and cultivars) from 540 different plant genera represented. 148 of these appear on the Red List of threatened plants. Many of the accessions represent the first accessions of their taxa in Belgium. More than 80 trees are listed on the inventory of the Belgian Dendrology Society as Belgian Champion.

Mayor woody plant genera include Amelanchier, Chaenomeles, Halesia, Hamamelis + Hamamelidaceae, adult growing forms of Hedera, Hydrangea paniculata, Liriodendron, hardy Ghent Rhododendron, Robinia, Rosa rugosa and Stachyurus. There is also a nice collection of Japanese bonsai.

Arboretum Kalmthout has an exclusive plant collection, known worldwide. The estate is open to public for both individuals and group visits.

In 2013 the John F. Kennedy Arboretum came under the management of the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland. Dedicated to the memory of John Fitzgerald Kennedy (35th President of the United States from 1960 to 1963) the Arboretum is a tree collection of international standing. Located in the southeast corner of Ireland, 12 km south of New Ross, it covers 252 ha and rises from 36 m at its southern boundary to 271 m at the summit of Sliabh Coiltir, a prominent hill overlooking the Kennedy ancestral home at Dunganstown. President Kennedy’s visit to Ireland in June 1963 was a pivotal moment in modern history and one that ignited the spirit of the nation. A key point of the President’s trip was when he visited the family homestead (now JFK Homestead) to have tea with his Irish cousins. Following his untimely death, a number of Irish-American societies wished to establish a memorial forest as a living tribute to him in Ireland. The Irish government suggested this take the form of a national arboretum, and sufficient funds were raised to purchase the lands, close to the Kennedy homestead, outright.

The Irish government undertook to develop and maintain the arboretum. A planning committee was established between the Forestry Division and the National Botanic Gardens to plan the content and layout of the arboretum and the OPW, which had the responsibility for providing the buildings, roads and services. The committee visited arboreta and botanic gardens in North America and Europe, to study state of the art methods of both arranging and managing such a collection. Twenty-two countries, with which Ireland had diplomatic relations, each sent gifts of trees and shrubs representative of their country to the arboretum. The main source of plants used in the arboretum has been from reputable nurseries that could authenticate the source of their material. Plants, cuttings and seed are also received as gifts or by exchange from other arboreta or botanic gardens.

The JFK Arboretum was opened formally by President de Valera on 29th May 1968. Today the arboretum contains over 5,000 types of trees and shrubs from all temperate regions of the world, planted in botanical sequence. Today the arboretum has taken on an even more significant role in providing a sanctuary to threatened tree species. In 2022 over 10 acres of new planting will establish some of the world’s most endangered conifers at the arboretum. Comprising of 1300 trees, representing 24 endangered conifer species the planting will be the single largest planted collection of the International Conifer Conservation Programme (ICCP).

The Colorado State University (CSU) Campus Arboretum and Botanical Garden embodies CSU’s land-grant heritage and mission by offering an engaging learning laboratory environment for students, employees, and community visitors. They manage approximately 10,000 trees, diverse in terms of age, class, and species, distributed over three campuses (Main, South, and Foothills), comprising 2,400 acres of land. The majority of CSU’s managed urban forest is located on the Main Campus within 220 acres of irrigated landscape. The Campus Arboretum leverages the investments of our historical and diverse urban forest, the Heritage Garden, PERC Arboretum, CSU Horticulture Research Center, Annual Flower Trial Gardens, and the Perennial Garden at the University Center for the Arts. The CSU Campus Arboretum is an exceptional asset for the community, advancing individual programs and efforts around research and teaching through the overarching structure and prominence of the arboretum, while solidifying a legacy that preserves our urban forest for future generations.

The Oval elm collection dating from 1881, is preserved for the long-term benefit of university and has continuing research value in finding efficacious treatments for evolving exotic pests of elm. The Heritage Garden & Arboretum Collection is 5.5 acres and was established over thirty years ago. It has the largest collections of woody plants in the region with over 1,100 different taxa represented.