Features
Seasons of the Barnes
Summer 2021
As her husband, Albert, amassed a world-renowned art collection, Laura Barnes turned her focus on the outside world. When the Barneses purchased their Merion home from Capt. Joseph Lapsley Wilson in 1922, they agreed to maintain the arboretum that he began planting in the 1880s. The 12-acre property blossomed under Laura’s care as she expanded the collection by bringing in trees, shrubs and plants from around the world. In 1940, she decided to share her knowledge and opened a horticulture school, an intense three-year program that used the arboretum grounds as a living classroom. Today, Laura’s legacy lives on at the Barnes Arboretum and, through its partnership with the Barnes Foundation, Saint Joseph’s University continues to expand on her educational mission. Whether taking a class or workshop or simply touring its grounds, the arboretum is a beautiful destination year-round.
Living Classroom
Built in 1924, the greenhouse allowed Laura’s plant propagation program to expand. Reconstructed in 2001-02, it serves as an educational facility and haven for tropical plants. The arboretum is also home to the Delaware Valley Hosta Society hosta collection with more than 135 varieties purposefully arranged to showcase the plant’s range of colors and sizes. Certified a National Display Garden in 2015, it can be found in the understory of the Wilson tree area.
Beauty in Balance
The arboretum offers variety in both its plantings and its layout. Students and visitors can enjoy the well-manicured formal rose garden, which blooms in summer. Or, they can meander the wooded paths to admire Laura’s fern collection. Planted back in the 1920s and ’30s, today it is the largest collection of hardy ornamental ferns for teaching and research in the mid-Atlantic region.
Student Sessions
A canopy of white wisteria cascades over the terrace of the Barneses’ former home. Today, the building serves as a classroom for students in the horticulture certificate program and some University classes.
Fall Foilage
An explosion of color transforms the arboretum in the fall as green leaves turn to shades of orange, red and yellow. The arboretum boasts an impressive 30-plus State Champion trees, many earning the award for their rarity, like the Chinese pistache, which was acquired in 1960. Laura experimented with planting trees and plants from around the world, including Asia. She had success with the Sakhalin cork tree from Japan, which was acquired in 1927.
Educational Endeavors
Laura assembled valuable teaching collections to foster her students’ learning experience. The arboretum continued her educational legacy through additional projects like the medicinal garden, with more than 170 species, and the 10,000-species herbarium, part of the Global Registry of Biodiversity Repositories.
Hidden Gems
Winter brings its own charms to the arboretum, including enchanting snow-day scenes. Tucked away on the property is a quaint teahouse and pond, a perfect spot for quiet contemplation year-round. The teahouse was Laura’s office and was designed by Paul Cret, architect of the main building.
Winter Delights
A highlight of the winter is the eye-catching bark of the stewartia trees (left). When the bark sheds, it reveals a camouflage of colors ranging from reddish-brown to gray.
Classes at the Arboretum
In 1940, Laura Barnes created an intensive three-year certificate program that focused on horticulture, botany and landscape architecture, with the arboretum serving as its classroom. Today, thanks to its partnership with Saint Joseph’s, the arboretum is also as an educational space for University students in classes like the following:
- Camera Basics at the Barnes: Helen Maurene Cooper, M.F.A., teaches both digital and experimental photography workshops on the grounds of the Barnes Arboretum in collaboration with the living collections. Her next digital class will run from mid-September to mid-October and will focus on topics like aperture, shutter speed and composition, with the beautiful plants, trees and flowers serving as the students’ subjects.
- Botanical Illustration: A certified botanical illustrator, Marylyn Waltzer has been teaching botanical art at the arboretum for the last 12 years. Her course, which blends art and scientific illustration, begins with drawing, with a focus on learning form, perspective, tonal value and texture. Students gain a deeper understanding of the plant world through illustration, with works beginning with graphite pencil and then moving on to watercolor.
Visit the Barnes Arboretum for more information on classes and workshops.
Anne Taulane is the director of creative services for Philadelphia magazine.