Bartram's Garden
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bartram's Garden (45 acres) is a garden, including a historic botanical garden and arboretum (8 acres, established circa 1728), located near the intersection of 54th Street and Lindbergh Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The grounds are open daily except for holidays; admission is free.
The garden is on the site of noted American botanist John Bartram's stone house and farm on the Schuylkill River. He built the original house between 1728-1731, then greatly expanded it and added its carved facade between 1740-1770. The house still stands, as does his original garden (circa 1728) which contains native species of herbaceous and woody plants. All were listed in the Bartrams' 1783 catalog and subsequent editions. The garden also contains three notable trees:
- Franklinia alatamaha - John and William Bartram discovered a small grove of this tree in 1765 by Georgia's Altamaha River. William subsequently brought seeds to the garden for propagation, and named the tree in honor of John Bartram's friend, Benjamin Franklin. Franklinia was last seen in the wild in 1803. All Franklinia growing today are descended from those propagated and distributed by the Bartrams, and they are credited with saving it from extinction.
- Cladrastis kentukea - A notably old tree, possibly collected by French plant explorer Andre Michaux in Tennessee or Kentucky, and sent to William Bartram in the 1790s.
- Gingko biloba - This male gingko is believed to be the last of three original gingkoes introduced to the United States from China, via London, in 1785.
