The Reeves-Reed Arboretum (13.5 acres (5.5 ha)) is a nonprofit

arboretum An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...

and garden located at 165 Hobart Avenue in

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

, Union County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, United States. It is the only arboretum in Union County. A popular wedding spot, the arboretum grounds are open daily from dawn till dusk, free of charge.

History & landscape architecture

The property was originally traversed by

Lenni Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historical territory included present-day northeastern Del ...

Native Americans Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

on their route from the coast near Elizabeth to the highlands near Schooley's Mountain. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, it was farmed, and was adjacent to the site of the Old Sow cannon and the signal beacon atop Beacon Hill on the Second Watchung Mountain. In 1889, John Hornor Wisner, a merchant in the China trade, purchased the property for a country estate—some 12 acres from the Swain farm. John and Isabelle Wisner, whose three children had been born in China, hired New York architects

Babb, Cook and Willard Babb, Cook & Willard was a New York City-based architectural firm established in 1884 that designed many important houses and commercial buildings. The principals of the firm were George Fletcher Babb (1836–1915), Walter Cook (1843–1916), ...

to build a Colonial Revival house, sited facing south with extensive views over the rolling hills. The Wisners moved to their stylish new home and called it "The Clearing." Working with noted landscape architect

Calvert Vaux Calvert Vaux Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, FAIA (; December 20, 1824 – November 19, 1895) was an English-American architect and landscape architect, landscape designer. He and his protégé Frederick Law Olmsted designed park ...

, they planted specimen trees and created flower beds and a meandering path around the property. In 1916, new owners, Richard and Susie Reeves, purchased the estate. Susie Reeves expanded the gardens, guided by prominent landscape architects

Ellen Biddle Shipman Ellen Biddle Shipman (; November 5, 1869 – March 27, 1950) was an American landscape architect known for her formal gardens and lush planting style. Along with Beatrix Farrand and Marian Cruger Coffin, she dictated the style of the time and s ...

(1924) and Carl F. Pilat (1924-1925), adding a

rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

garden in 1925. The Charles L. Reed family became the last private owners in 1968, adding an

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

garden. In 1974, the estate was preserved as a public arboretum by the City of Summit.

Specialty gardens

The gardens are a beautifully maintained example of early 20th century landscape architecture, also known as the

Country Place Era The Country Place Era was a period, from about 1890 to 1930, of American landscape architecture design during which wealthy Americans commissioned extensive gardens at their country estates, emulating European gardens that the Americans had seen in ...

. Italianate in character, the garden layout is symmetrical and axial, creating formal garden rooms off a main axis from the house. The Gretchen Keller Azalea Garden (designed by Shipman and Pilat) and Rock Garden contain about 850 shrubs and 25 trees. Its peak bloom is in May, with the

dogwoods ''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods or cornels, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous ...

azalea Azaleas ( ) are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Rhododendron sect. Tsutsusi, Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and ''Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate ...

lilacs The Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (in Portuguese language, Portuguese), acronym LILACS, and previously called Latin American Index Medicus, is an on-line bibliographic database in medicine and health sciences, main ...

deutzia ''Deutzia'' ( or ) is a genus of about 60 species of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Hydrangeaceae, native plant, native to eastern and central Asia (from the Himalayas east to Japan and the Philippines), and Central America and ...

and

crabapples ''Malus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 32–57 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples (sometimes known in North America as crabapples) and wild apples. The genus i ...

. The Susie Graham Reeves Rose Garden contains 286

bushes, representing over 150 varieties of roses, including floribundas and hybrid teas laid out in a traditional circle-in-a-square design. The central feature of the rose garden is a cherub fountain from the Reeves period. Old fashioned roses flank the formal garden, and climbing roses are trained on posts and chains. Features: Wesson Nature Grove, Lilac Garden, Herb Garden, Vernal Pool, Woodland Trails (hiking paths), and tours.

Programs & events

Daffodil Day Over 30,000 daffodils bloom in a glacial bowl in front of Wisner House each April. The Arboretum hosts its annual Daffodil Day event to celebrate. The original flowers were planted by Susie Graham Reeves in the 1920s. Since 2014, the Arboretum has used a small herd of

Nubian goats The Anglo-Nubian is a British breed of domestic goat. It originated in the nineteenth century from cross-breeding between native British goats and a mixed population of large lop-eared goats imported from India, the Middle East and North Afri ...

to remove excess vegetation and weeds. Celebrate Fall Annually, the Arboretum hosts a celebration of autumn with events such as , seasonal cooking demonstrations and pumpkin carving. Other events at the garden have included a Maple Sugar Fest, Great American Backyard Campout, Holiday House Tour, and Sounds of a Summer Night. Features: Wesson Nature Grove, Lilac Garden, Herb Garden, Vernal Pool, Woodland Trails (hiking paths), and tours. Square Foot Gardening A pilot program started in 2018 is designed to provide children with a connection to nature through organic vegetable gardening. Educational Programs Children in school groups visit the Arboretum for field trips on science topics, and scout groups earn badges from special programs. In summer, kids attend a wide variety of weekly nature-themed camps, organized by age. Adults visit for sessions such as Gardening 101 and Backyard Bird Feeding tips, as well as related special collaborations with arts organizations.

History & landscape architecture

Specialty gardens

Programs & events

See also