About the Arboretum

Photo by Peter Aaron

The Bard College campus was dedicated to the Landscape and Arboretum Program on Arbor Day, April 27, 2007. It comprises meadows, forests, wetlands, a tidal estuary, and a Hudson River tributary—the Sawkill Creek. The landscape contains many 200-year-old trees and is part of the 32-mile Hudson River National Historic Landmark District.

Current Projects

Landscape Master Plan

Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, a research-based design firm, will lead Bard College's comprehensive planning process for its 930-acre campus. The firm will develop the College’s first comprehensive campus landscape plan since 1988 to bring harmony among its many cultural landscapes and ecological assets and develop the tools needed to make sensitive and thoughtful planning decisions.
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Blithewood Garden Rehabilitation Project

Bard College and the Garden Conservancy, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to saving and sharing outstanding America gardens, are working together on repairs to the historic garden’s structures and hardscape.
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Montgomery Place: Women, Writing and Place

Bard Arboretum is collaborating with Montgomery Place historic site to offer an educational program series around Women, Writing, and Place. We are honored to have diverse local women authors share their writings with the public. Please join us this summer to explore stories about "place" from a woman’s viewpoint.
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Our Historic Gardens and Other Collections

Blithewood Garden and Montgomery Place Garden are our most prominent and visited gardens. Both landscapes are former historic Hudson River estates that deserve to be a stop on your Arboretum tour. They serve as a physical reminder of our predecessors and the important role they played in shaping the campus landscape. Our campus includes many additional gardens, plant collections, natural areas, and walking trails that are also worth exploring.
Blithewood Garden Montgomery Place Gardens Other Gardens and Collections Walking Trails

Student Perspective

Maxwell Explores the parliament of reality

Maxwell is a Bard College student majoring in American Studies and French. Maxwell talks about the parliament of reality, a permanent outdoor installation on North Campus designed by Olafur Eliasson.

Awards and Recognition

Tree Campus USA
Level II Accredited Arboretum
Big Tree Registry for New York
Old Growth Forest Network Recognition
Top 12 Most Beautiful College Campuses in the US (2020)
The Most Beautiful College Campuses You Can Visit in the US (2018)
Condé Nast Traveler Names Bard One of “the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America” (2016)

Plan Your Visit

The Bard Arboretum gardens and grounds are open from sunrise to sunset unless otherwise posted.
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What's in Bloom?

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