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11/22/2017 11:01 PMWhat is a botanical garden?
These increasingly popular destinations offer horticultural and botanic displays and education to both public and professionals. They are distinguished from other open spaces and museums, however, by the practice of collecting and studying plants and keeping long-term records of those plants’ growth characteristics. Arboreta (a.k.a, arboretums) have the same practices but specialize in trees and shrubs. Botanic gardens and arboreta usually label plants with common names, botanical names, and sometimes their places of origin.
In our region, several gardens and arboreta offer winter walks as well as the opportunity to visit toasty glass houses. The greenhouses at Yale’s Marsh Botanical Garden at 265 Mansfield street in New Haven, for instance, are open Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Staff member Eric Larson recommends calling ahead, “just in case.” Phone: 203-432-6320.
Other regional gardens include Elizabeth Park at 1561 Asylum Avenue, West Hartford, and Bartlett Arboretum at 151 Brookdale Road, Stamford.