{"id":64665,"date":"2026-01-14T11:01:39","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T16:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=64665"},"modified":"2026-02-15T16:21:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T21:21:22","slug":"botanic-gardens-fascinating-facts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/botanic-gardens-fascinating-facts\/","title":{"rendered":"Acres of Natural Beauty: Fascinating Facts About the Botanic Gardens"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To mark a century of its stewardship on campus and off, we offer 17 plant-based tidbits about East Hill\u2019s beloved haven of greenery<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Joe Wilensky<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its footprint is vast\u2014in acreage, splendor, and the scope of its responsibilities over natural areas. Cornell Botanic Gardens<\/a> covers a full third of the Ithaca campus\u2019s 745 acres; including the off-campus natural areas under its purview, it encompasses 3,800 acres of landscape, forest, and gardens, and multiple collections of plants, trees, flowers, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was founded (as it notes on its website) with the aim of “securing and protecting the natural treasures that make up the dramatic landscape of the university and providing areas for natural study, research, and enjoyment.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it also has an educational mission: to provide learning and research opportunities for the University, and to inspire people\u2014through cultivation, conservation, and teaching\u2014to understand, appreciate, and nurture plants and the cultures they sustain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Ryan Young \/ Cornell University<\/figcaption>
The Knoll, near Beebe Lake, is home to the Rhododendron Garden.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Embracing its role as a “living museum,” the Gardens has grown steadily over the decades\u2014developing multiple specialty collections of flowering plants, mature trees, herbs, ornamental grasses, and more. It now houses more than 10,000 plants, including 26 endangered or critically endangered species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it remains a popular destination for locals and tourists alike, seeing 1.3 million visits each year to its Arboretum, cultivated gardens, and 31 miles of trails, along which flow 15 waterfalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on for 17 fascinating facts about the Botanic Gardens!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

It recently marked its centennial!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the late 1800s, University grounds superintendents informally set apart land for a future arboretum, and by 1914, a formal proposal sketching out a botanic garden and arboretum had been created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"undated
A footbridge over Cascadilla Gorge around the turn of the last century.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Trustees approved the first campus master plan that included these natural areas in 1925. The Botanic Gardens considers this its inception\u2014and therefore celebrated 2025 as its centennial year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"undated
Rare and Manuscript Collections<\/figcaption>
Bailey outside his cottage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n

One of its early advocates was a Big Red legend!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Liberty Hyde Bailey, who came to the Hill in 1888 as a professor of horticulture and landscape gardening, helped form the Gardens\u2019 early vision. He promoted the University\u2019s arboretum and gardens as areas for natural study, research, and delight, where \u201cplants are displayed so appropriately that at first there is interest, then appreciation, for their many values for human use and enjoyment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The founding dean of what\u2019s now CALS, Bailey dominated the fields of botany and plant pathology\u2014authoring more than 65 books and elevating horticulture from a craft to an applied science.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

It was renamed a decade ago!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 1944, as a trustee of what was then the Arboretum Committee, Bailey suggested the name Cornell Plantations, which was used for the following seven decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was renamed in 2016, to more accurately reflect the Gardens’ wide variety of collections, devotion to conservation, and robust educational programming. The new identity also represented a shift away from a name that, for many, evoked negative associations with slavery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

It contributes to the University\u2019s carbon-neutral goals!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Gardens sequesters 10,685 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year\u2014enough to prevent 136,000 square feet of Arctic sea ice from melting. Much of this is thanks to the extensive forests it stewards, such as the 550-acre Monkey Run Natural Area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"part
Monkey Run in autumn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Its Arboretum was an alum\u2019s vision!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The 100-acre Arboretum\u2014which includes the largest meadow on campus\u2014is named for Floyd \u201cFlood\u201d Newman 1912, an oil industrialist, philanthropist, and University trustee.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Newman
Rare and Manuscript Collections<\/figcaption>
Newman at his namesake Arboretum.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In the early 1980s, he funded construction of an expansive arboretum with two ponds, an overlook, and collections of trees and shrubs that support horticultural teaching and research. It was dedicated at his 70th Reunion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also the benefactor of the Newman Laboratory of Nuclear Studies and of Helen Newman Hall (named in honor of his wife), he passed away in 1990 just shy of his 100th birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Its famed bell is made from a fuel tank!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hike to the top of the Arboretum\u2019s overlook (also named for Newman) and you\u2019ll be rewarded not only with a majestic view from one of the highest elevations on campus, but with the opportunity to ring the famed bell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"the
Ringing the bell is on the Daily Sun<\/em>\u2019s list of 161 things all Cornellians should do before graduation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Installed in 1998, the instrument is actually a sculpture made from what was once the steel cylinder of an acetylene tank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Beebe Lake is part of its portfolio!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The 17-acre body of water has been under the Botanic Gardens\u2019 purview since 1977, along with the trails, woods, and wetlands around it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"the
Rare and Manuscript Collections<\/figcaption>
Boating on Beebe remains a favorite Reunion activity.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Architecture students designed its concrete sculptures!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The sculpture garden<\/a> was created in 1961\u201363 by professor Jack Squier, MFA \u201952, and undergrads in his advanced sculpture class. The forms were built on site, and a crane lifted each piece\u2014some weighing up to 10 tons\u2014into position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 11 sculptures were installed in what was then an abandoned pasture; today, they\u2019re at the heart of the Gardens. While three were later removed for being structurally unsound, the eight remaining works were recently refreshed.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"several
Cornell University<\/figcaption>
The sculpture class taught not only art and and design, but also engineering and carpentry.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Many of the students involved in the sculpture project went on to distinguished careers in architecture\u2014including Alan Chimacoff \u201963, BArch \u201964, who designed parts of North Campus and the Lab of Ornithology building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

The sculptures hosted a dance party!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During Reunion 2017, the sculpture garden was \u201clit\u201d like never before or since\u2014for a nighttime dance party, hosted by Class of 1992 for its 25th Reunion and featuring famed NYC DJ Lady Bunny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A Reunion spectacular among the artworks.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe wanted to do something different in a space that could accommodate our numbers,\u201d explains class Reunion co-chair Jean Kintisch \u201992, adding, “It was epic!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s responsible for two famed gorges!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Gardens\u2019 stewardship over natural areas includes the preservation and protection of the Cascadilla and Fall Creek gorges, as well as the natural areas around them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Reunion
Jason Koski \/ Cornell University<\/figcaption>
A Reunion walking tour of Cascadilla Gorge in 2023.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n

It was a longtime favorite spot for weddings!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For decades, the Arboretum\u2014and especially the boardwalk and pergola over the pond\u2014was a popular spot for weddings, many of Cornell alumni.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, the Gardens hasn\u2019t been able to host weddings in recent years, due to staffing limitations. <\/p>\n<\/div>

\"Matt
Matt Craig \u201990 and Karen Jacowitz \u201990 were married at the Botanic Gardens the same year they graduated.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Groundbreaking plant genetics research was conducted here!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From 1923 until the early 2000s, the Department of Horticulture used part of the land area for test gardens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"the
The historic shed amid research plots.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Also on the site is a small structure now known as the McClintock Shed, in honor of Nobel Prize-winning scientist Barbara McClintock 1923, PhD 1927. She and other grad students used the shed and surrounding fields to conduct research on corn, which led to breakthroughs in genetics and plant breeding, years before DNA was discovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"The
Yarb Woman<\/em> was gifted to the Gardens in 1980.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n

An alum\u2019s statue pays tribute to women healers!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Crafted by Elfriede Abbe \u201940, the bronze Yarb Woman<\/em> statue is, fittingly, located in the herb garden. (\u201cYarb\u201d means \u201cherb\u201d in Old English.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It represents women who are knowledgeable about herbs and their uses, particularly those with medicinal properties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally placed under a crabapple tree, the statue suffered from decades of acid from the fruits above, which corroded its patina. In 2019, it was restored and relocated within the garden.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Depression-era workers built its infrastructure!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Members of the federal Civilian Conservation Corps built numerous roads, walls, and other infrastructure on acreage that the University had set aside for the Arboretum.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Workers
Men at work near Judd Falls Road in the 1930s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a top tourist destination!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The cultivated gardens surrounding the Nevin Welcome Center was the first stop that the New York Times<\/em> recommended in its \u201c36 Hours in the Finger Lakes<\/a>\u201d story in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gardens, the Times<\/em> wrote, \u201care a treat in the early summer, with marsh marigold and trillium in full bloom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"the
The Robison Herb Garden is a popular stop.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the top cultural attractions in Tompkins County and the wider Finger Lakes Region, the Gardens has also been featured in other national media, including a 2025 CNN story<\/a> on visiting Ithaca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

It once welcomed bovine visitors!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Up until the mid 1960s, much of the land that the Arboretum now comprises was used by the Department of Animal Husbandry to graze livestock\u2014so cows were a common sight.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Cows
The hills were once alive with the sound of … moo<\/em>-sic.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

And \u2026 it\u2019s colorful, even in the depths of winter!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Mullestein Winter Garden<\/a> is a one-acre area that was developed to feature plants that thrive and offer their most colorful displays during the winter months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Cornell University<\/figcaption>
The winter garden showcases seasonal hues and forms.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Opened in 2001, it offers more than 700 varieties of flora that sport winter berries, unusual cones, evergreen foliage, and interesting bark texture and color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Top: The Arboretum in autumn (Cornell University). All photos courtesy of the Botanic Gardens, unless otherwise indicated.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published January 14, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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