|
The
Arboretum at Spring Grove Cemetery
|
|
|
History of the Arboretum |
 |
|
One
annual report bragged that a collection of trees from the
four quarters of the world make Spring Grove a valuable
"field for the study of the botanist. So rare and great
is the variety that the visitor with little knowledge of
this branch of science is unaware of the wealth of the cemetery."
(Cincinnati Horticultural Society annual report)
|
|
Driving
through the gates of Spring Grove's main entrance, visitors
are struck with the rich historic setting of the massive
iron gates, the limestone construction of the Historic Office
building on the right and the Norman Chapel on the left.
What might not be as obvious is the rich horticulture history
from which the grounds of Spring Grove evolved. The Cincinnati
Men's Horticulture Society recognized the need for a new
cemetery outside the city, but they also brought their own
interest in horticulture to the design and improvements
of the grounds, including the selection of an appropriate
site.
|
The early
arboretum at Spring Grove Cemetery |
The
founders sought topographically diverse grounds where they
could apply picturesque aesthetics as described by such authors
as Bryant and Wordsworth. To design such a landscape, proper
site choice was crucial. Robert Buchanan (first president
of the Cincinnati Horticulture Society) insisted on terrain
with wet lands that could "easily be converted into ponds,"
appropriate for cultivation of aquatic plants and conducive
to creation of a romantic landscape in the English fashion.
He insisted on a site with "gentle elevation … interspersed
with ravines that afford a charming variety and render it
susceptible of being highly embellished." Hilly areas
would be forested with indigenous trees. The horticulturists
sought dampness for planting rhododendrons, azaleas, and cypress
magnolia that like humid soil and decayed vegetable matter
for their nourishment. Many beautiful situations on the hills
surrounding Cincinnati proved unfit because the soil had substrata
of clay that would retain water. |
| From
the start, the cemetery grounds were used as an arboretum
for the study of plants. Annual reports of the Cincinnati
Horticultural Society carefully recorded diverse, new tree
varieties set out in Spring Grove, how they thrived and behaved.
The horticulturists experimented to see if certain trees were
fit for urban streets, hoping to encourage nurserymen to vary
and increase their stocks for such uses. They actively suggested
trees to add to the collection, and all fed off each others'
knowledge and expertise in an actively collaborative enterprise.
By 1850, the horticulturists listed 4,300 ornamental plant
varieties and a stock of 11,300 nursery plants, many of which
were donated. |
| The
structure of Adolph Strauch's ideal naturalistic landscape
design grew from its plants, not just the layout of the sinuous
avenues and lakes on diverse terrain. Strauch furthered the
horticulturists' efforts to diversify Spring Grove's collection.
From 1855 to 1865, he planted over 200 tree varieties, grouping
families and carefully choosing sites so that "the beauty
of form, color, and size shall be most effective." He
created backdrops or frames of foliage for major monuments
and loosely sculpted masses of greenery that alternated spaces
of light and shade that would "delight the casual observer."
In 1856, he set out a cucumber tree, an ornamental variety
from the American South, known to thrive in Cincinnati's climate.
He introduced azaleas and laurel. He imported dwarf pines
from Silesia for planting along the periphery of the grounds.
In 1861, he ordered foreign maples - a compact, globular tree-
that was allowed to spread to specimen form in open spaces.
In 1865, Paris, Kentucky, sent 400 holly trees to "ornament"
Spring Grove. In 1870, Strauch and Probasco ordered diverse
vines, shrubs, and trees from England; in 1876, magnolias
from Memphis; in 1878, a thousand red pines and many spruce. |
Adolph
Strauch |
Magnolias
at Spring Grove Cemetery |
Strauch
and the horticulturists made Spring Grove an arboretum arranged
in an artistic fashion which created interesting landscape
pictures. There were evergreens "from the most remote
regions of the Himalayan, Caucasian, and Rocky Mountains."
Tree origins ranged from the "Alps to the Allegheny Mountains."
Strauch imported the Chinese ailanthus, the European alder,
the Canadian poplar, the Persian lilac, the Norway Spruce,
Corsican and Scotch pines, French and German tamarisk, and
many species never before grown in North America. The Oriental
spruces he ordered were among the first in the United States.
By the 1860's Spring Grove had a more diverse collection of
trees than any other landscape in the nation, except New York's
Central Park. |
Strauch
further increased the diversity of species with "many
handsome specimens from … Japan intermingled with those
from the … Pyrenees. The cypress and magnolia from the
Lower Mississippi flourish with the hemlock and white pine
from the ice-bound banks of the St. Lawrence River. The Pacific
states as well as the shores of the Mediterranean have also
furnished their quota toward the sylvan adornments of Spring
Grove."
The
diversification of the tree collection maximized displays
of seasonal color. Visitors praised the "brilliant colors"
of sugar and scarlet maples, tulip trees, sour and sweetgum,
and sassafras and the pleasing contrast of the golden birth
against evergreens' dark foliage. Experimental planting of
varietal pines never before grown in such a climate provided
color in winter months.
A major
part of the grounds was set aside by Strauch as a "haunt
of nature untouched." This small forest preserve (The
Woodland) still remains free of burials and monuments, retaining
its ravines and steep hillsides. From 1878 to 1880, workers
completed Woodland Avenue "leading through a deep ravine
in a dense forest of chiefly beech and oak for more than a
mile," predicted to "form one of the most picturesque
and delightful drives any where to be found." Visiting
the forest would be beneficial, Strauch wrote in 1869:
|
|
"There
is a certain poetic enchantment… powerfully felt by
the beholder… among shady groves of ancient trees,
whose trunks are encircled by the garland of eternity, the
ivy, and where tuneful birds enliven the stillness of secret
solitude."
|
Woodland
Road |
By
1880, Spring Grove's directors took pride in the close, continuing
relationship of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society and the
Cemetery, both broadly defining horticulture to include "landscape
gardening, … and the care of the most tender exotics
from every part of the habitable globe." Spring Grove's
President Buchanan declared that "Horticulture is the
finer art of Agriculture."
Growth of the Arboretum
Spring Grove Arboretum's rich horticulture tradition continued
throughout the twentieth century. During Arthur Espy's tenure
as president, the nursery land was increased to fifteen acres
for tree and shrub propagation. These nurseries and a large
new greenhouse with state-of-the-art heating and humidification
equipment engaged in constant horticultural experimentation,
exchanging trees and shrubs with other institutional nurseries,
especially those of urban park boards, carrying on a tradition
begun by Cemetery founders and continued by Strauch.
|
Willow
Lake Seasonal Border |
Clifford
R. Runyan became Spring Grove's third Superintendent in 1926
and served in the post for thirty years. Runyan received the
first degree awarded in landscape architecture from Ohio University
Agriculture College in 1915. With special interest in ornamental
plantings, Runyan enlarged the number and size of flower borders
and beds. He introduced more flowers into the landscape than
Strauch would have allowed and more diverse than Salway (his
predecessor), could get, particularly tree peonies, orchids,
iris, and daffodils. |
Superintendent
S. Clyde Gordon (became Superintendent in 1955) and his successor
Samuel A. Stueve deliberately carried on horticultural traditions
in developing Spring Grove's extensive arboretum. Recognizing
the importance of its trees, the Cemetery hired Thomas L.
Smith to supplement the expertise of Edwin A. Friedhoff who
became the Horticulturist in 1964 and was promoted to Superintendent
in 1972. Smith had worked four summers at "The Grove"
while studying forest science and doing post-graduate research
at Yale University on the effects of air pollutants on tree
growth rates. He led Spring Grove into the new urban forestry
movement.
In 1974, the Cemetery hosted the annual meeting of the Ohio
Association of Arboretums; approved the labeling of trees,
shrubs, and ornamental grasses; and planned long-range education
programs focused on the arboretum. In 1987, in recognition
of the Cemetery's active involvement in forestry, nursery,
and horticultural activities, the Board of Trustees formally
adopted the name "Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum."
|
| Spring
Grove remains an arboretum with over 1,200 species, 1,000
labeled for study. Twentieth-century management developed
an extensive collection of flowering trees, shrubs, and perennials,
periodically importing new species. One popular yew, Taxus
media 'Runyani', is named after a former Superintendent. Spring
Grove received a patent for its Cornus florida 'Groflor' in
1993 and the Spring Grove arborvitae was named Thuja plicata
'Grovpli'. The Cemetery continues to work with national and
international organizations and serves as a national laboratory
where universities, nurseries and growers bring new plants
and seeds to test. |
Spring
Grove Dogwood |
| Excerpts
from: Spring Grove: Celebrating 150 Years written by Blanche
M. G. Linden, 1995. |
|