Bailey Arboretum
Bailey Arboretum is a 42 acre arboretum located in Lattingtown, New York, a small village on the North Shore of Long Island.
The arboretum created by Frank Bailey over a hundred years ago, is the first and only accredited arboretum in the New York Metropolitan Area.
Stewarded by the Friends of Bailey Arboretum on property owned by Nassau County, the arboretum of exotic trees covers 98% of the property. In addition there is a 200 year old manor house “Munnysunk” used for education, fundraising and rentals, a carriage barn with meeting rooms, and a greenhouse, two man made ponds and 35 acres of woodland trails.
The collection of exotic trees makes Bailey Arboretum unique. 200 different species of trees are registered on the international data base of Arbnet and another 300 trees are pending identification. Seven acres are landscaped grounds with a rose, perennial, vegetable and annual gardens. Bailey Arboretum has one of the first Sensory Gardens on Long Island. Handicap accessible, it appeals to all senses enabling the sight and mobility impaired to enjoy a garden. The Children’s Habitat enjoyed by primarily preschool children is the first accredited early childhood outdoor classroom in New York State. Fifteen champion trees remain in the Bailey Collection including the Dawn Redwood planted by seed from China in 1947. In 2007 the Metasequoia Society found the Bailey tree to have the largest girth of any Dawn Redwood in the world.
Frank Bailey,”Mr. Brooklyn” the self-made multi -millionaire and head of Title Guarantee Trust, successfully led the Brooklyn Botanical garden through the Great Depression. This put him in contact with the great plant collectors of the world and enabled him to amass this collection. Other gifts followed including a rare dwarf evergreen collection.
Sources:
Frank Bailey, Hannah Geffen, It Can’t Happen Again, Alfred A. Knopf New York. 1944
Friends of Bailey Arboretum History of Frank Bailey and the Country Estate Munnysunk 2011
Friends of Bailey Arboretum archives
Brooklyn Botanical Garden Archives
See also
External links
Coordinates: 40°53′12″N 73°35′01″W / 40.88667°N 73.58361°W