Arboretum

For over thirty years, besides making music, David Byrne has focused his unique genius upon forms as diverse as the archaeology of music as we know it, architectural photography and the uses of PowerPoint. Now he presents his most personal work to date, a collection of drawings exploring the form of the tree diagram. Arboretum is an eclectic blend of science, automatic writing, self-analysis and satire. A journey through irrational logic - the application of scientific rigour and form to irrational premises, proceeding from careful nonsense to unexpected sense. The tree diagram is a form that might reveal more about yourself than you dreamed possible.

"Twenty-One Trees" commemorates Mountain Top Arboretum, the geology of the Catskills, and the Arboretum's exceptional, traditionally-timber-framed Educational Center, and detailing the twenty-one species of trees used in its construction. As the only public garden/arboretum in Catskill Park, the Mountain Top Arboretum strives to inform its visitors about the landscape they visit and live near.

Internationally renowned for its pioneering role in the ecological restoration of tallgrass prairies, savannas, forests, and wetlands, the University of Wisconsin Arboretum contains the world’s oldest and most diverse restored ecological communities. A site for land restoration research, public environmental education, and enjoyment by nature lovers, the arboretum remains a vibrant treasure in the heart of Madison’s urban environment. Pioneers of Ecological Restoration chronicles the history of the arboretum and the people who created, shaped, and sustained it up to the present. Although the arboretum was established by the University of Wisconsin in 1932, author Franklin E. Court begins his history in 1910 with John Nolen, the famous landscape architect who was invited to create plans for the city of Madison, the university campus, and Wisconsin state parks. Drawing extensive details from archives and interviews, Court follows decades of collaborative work related to the arboretum’s lands, including the early efforts of Madison philanthropists and businessmen Michael Olbrich, Paul E. Stark, and Joseph W. “Bud” Jackson. With labor from the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s Depression, University of Wisconsin scientists began establishing both a traditional horticultural collection of trees and plants and a completely new, visionary approach to recreate native ecosystems. Hundreds of dedicated scientists and staff have carried forward the arboretum’s mission in the decades since, among them G. William Longenecker, Aldo Leopold, John T. Curtis, Rosemary Fleming, Virginia Kline, and William R. Jordan III. This archival record of the arboretum’s history provides rare insights into how the mission of healing and restoring the land gradually shaped the arboretum’s future and its global reputation; how philosophical conflicts, campus politics, changing priorities, and the encroaching city have affected the arboretum over the decades; and how early aspirations (some still unrealized) have continued to motivate the work of this extraordinary institution.

A pioneer and leader in the preservation and restoration of native Midwest prairies since the 1930s, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum has a stellar collection of prairie plant species, including horsetails, ferns, rushes, sedges, grasses, shrubs, vines, and wildflowers. This guide illustrates and describes more than 360 native and introduced species that grow and bloom on the Arboretum prairies and also briefly discusses or mentions many additional species, infraspecific taxa, and hybrids. Its intent is to increase awareness and respect for remaining small prairie remnants, motivate readers to work for prairie preservation and restoration, and encourage the planting of native species in yards and gardens. Botanist and taxonomist Theodore S. Cochrane has written the text to engage a variety of readers: prairie enthusiasts, gardeners, amateur botanists, younger students learning about plants, and college students and professionals. Nomenclature follows in part the new APG classification system. Richly illustrated with detailed color photographs by Claudia S. Lipke and botanical illustrations and maps by Kandis Elliot, the guide provides a beautiful and informative sample of the flora of the Arboretum and of the southern Wisconsin prairie landscape. Many of the plants, of course, are also found throughout the upper Midwestern United States and in adjacent southern Canada.

Oxford Botanic Garden is the oldest surviving botanic garden in Britain and has occupied its site in central Oxford since 1621. Conceived as a place to grow medicinal plants, born in the turmoil of civil war and nurtured during the restoration of the monarchy, the garden has, unsurprisingly, a curious past.By tracing the work and priorities of each of the garden's keepers, this book explores its importance as one of the world's oldest scientific plant collections. It tells the story of the planting of the garden by its first keeper, Jacob Bobart, and his son, together with how they changed the garden to suit their own needs. The story develops during the eighteenth century as the garden grew exotic plants under glass and acquired a fine succulent collection but then experienced a downturn under the stewardship of the eccentric Professor Humphrey Sibthorp (famous for giving just one lecture in thirty-seven years). Finally, the narrative throws light on the partnership of gardener William Baxter and academic Charles Daubeny in the early nineteenth century, which gave the garden its glasshouses and ponds and contributed to its survival to the present day. This generously illustrated book is the first history of the garden and arboretum for more than a century and provides an essential introduction to one of Oxford's much-loved haunts.

The pioneering role of the Arnold Arboretum in blending botanical research with public recreation and aesthetic display is revealed in this first comprehensive history of one of Boston's most treasured outdoor spaces.

Donated by Alain Arts, 2010, and autographed by author.