Events

    2023 Aug 13

    Second Sundays at the Arnold Arboretum

    12:00pm to 3:00pm

    Location: 

    Peters Hill, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Bring your family and friends to Peters Hill for an afternoon of free tours, crafts, family activities, and more! Did we mention free ice cream and bubbles? Free activities open to all ages include:

    • Tours of Peters Hill offered in both English and Spanish

    • Plant information tents featuring wildflowers and plant defenses, fascinating Arboretum plant highlights, know-how of Arboretum experts, and a rich assortment of cuttings to view up close

    • Ice cream, art activities, lawn games, StoryWalks®, and more!...

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    2023 May 06

    Guided Tours at Arnold Arboretum

    Repeats every week on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday until Tue May 30 2023 except Sun May 14 2023, Tue May 16 2023, Sun May 28 2023, Mon May 29 2023.
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    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Join us for a walk through the Arboretum! Tour seasonal plant highlights and learn about Arboretum history from a trained docent. Tour is 90 minutes long.

    Tour times are at 10:30am or 1:00pm, depending on availability.

    Learn more and RSVP.

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    2023 Apr 22

    Tour: Frederick Law Olmsted and the Arnold Arboretum

    10:30am to 11:45am

    Location: 

    Hunnewell Visitor Center, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Frederick Law Olmsted designed the Arnold Arboretum and played an important role in its genesis as a public park. Join docent Bill Beizer for a tour identifying the elements of the Arboretum that best reflect Olmsted's philosophy and design approach.

    Learn more and RSVP.

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    2023 Mar 23

    Plant Exploration: Then and Now

    6:30pm to 8:00pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, Weld Hill Research Building, 1300 Centre Street, Boston

    The Arnold Arboretum has been collecting plants from around the world for 150 years, but plant exploration today looks very different than it did in the 1800s. From changes in collecting practices to an evolving relationship between the Arboretum and its international partners, a lot has changed in the last century. Join Head of the Library and Archives Lisa Pearson and Keeper of the Living Collections Michael Dosmann to learn what these trips were like in the days of yore, and what they are like now.

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    2023 Mar 18

    Tour: Frederick Law Olmsted and the Arnold Arboretum

    10:30am to 12:00pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Frederick Law Olmsted, considered the father of landscape architecture, designed some 500 public spaces in North America. The Arnold Arboretum, the only arboretum he designed, is a National Historic Landmark and a model for others around the world. Arboretum docent, Bill Beizer, will identify the elements of the Arnold Arboretum that best reflect Olmsted's philosophy and approach to landscape design.

    Learn more...

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    2023 Feb 18

    Tour: Witch-Hazel Walk

    1:00pm to 2:15pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Join a docent tour through the Arboretum looking for the vibrant colors of the witch-hazel flowers. Learn about plants native to China and Japan, those from the Ozarks and Mississippi, and even one that was introduced right here at the Arnold Arboretum! Dress warmly and wear boots for a 75-minute tour on and off the paths.

    Learn more and RSVP.

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    2023 Feb 14

    Tour : Witch-Hazel Walk

    1:00pm to 2:15pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Bring your Valentine on a docent -led tour through the Arboretum looking for the vibrant colors of the witch-hazel flowers. Learn about plants native to China and Japan, those from the Ozarks and Mississippi, and even one that was introduced right here at the Arnold Arboretum! Dress warmly and wear boots for a 75-minute tour on and off the paths.

    Learn more and RSVP.

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    2023 Feb 03

    Tour: Witch-Hazels with Andrew Gapinski

    1:00pm to 2:30pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    In the Arnold Arboretum, there is something blooming every month of the year—including February! Join Andrew Gapinski, Director of Horticulture, to explore the beauty of the Arboretum’s witch-hazel family collection and its captivating history of development, evaluation, and scientific study here at the Arboretum.

    Learn more and RSVP.

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    2023 Jan 04

    Roslindale Gateway Path Tour

    2:00pm to 3:00pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, South Street Gate, Boston

    Join us for a tour of the proposed Roslindale Gateway Path: an accessible shared-use pedestrian and cycling path through the Arnold Arboretum. When complete, this path will provide a missing pedestrian link between Forest Hills Subway Station and Roslindale Village Commuter Rail Station, offering carbon-free commuting options and connecting Boston residents with the natural spaces in their own neighborhoods. Come learn about this collaborative project with the Arboretum's Head of Operations and Project Management, Danny Schissler.

    Note that this tour will include walking...

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    2022 Dec 09

    Art Workshop | Botanical Cyanotype

    1:00pm to 3:30pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Learn how to make beautiful seasonal cards and prints using the alternative photography method known as Cyanotype. Participants will collect leaves and seeds in the landscape and arrange them on special paper to create a deep blue print with bright, ghost-white silhouettes. This historic photography method, otherwise known as blueprints (sunprints), is one of the earliest forms of photography, and offers participants the ability to perform something that seems like magic.

    Led by Tonya Lemos of Blazing Star Herbal School.

    This workshop will take place...

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    2022 Oct 25

    Obsessions: Fellow Organisms in the Arnold Arboretum

    7:00pm to 8:30pm

    Location: 

    Online or at Weld Hill Research Building, 1300 Centre St., Boston

    Join the Arnold Arboretum’s Director William (Ned) Friedman for the annual Director’s Series! To celebrate the Arboretum’s sesquicentennial, this year’s series will explore the Magic and Meaning of a Garden of Trees. Over the course of four sessions, we will trace the Arnold’s significance in the landscape architecture movement, value for the people of Boston, and leadership in creating global connections between plants and people. This final session will feature a talk from Director Friedman on fellow organisms in the Arboretum.

    ...

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    2022 Oct 15

    Olmsted: Bicentennial Perspectives (Day 2)

    9:00am to 5:00pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, Weld Hill Research Building, 1300 Centre St., Boston

    The Harvard University Graduate School of Design, in partnership with the Arnold Arboretum, is hosting a two-day academic conference as part of the national Olmsted 200 celebration. While Olmsted was central to the conceptual formation of the degree program in landscape architecture at Harvard University and the design of the Arnold Arboretum, the interpretive ambitions of the conference are anything but parochial.

    Day 2 of the conference (Saturday, October 15) will take place at the Arnold Arboretum’s Weld Hill Research Building, 1300 Centre St, Boston, MA 02131.

    ...

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    2022 Sep 13

    Journeys: The Arnold Arboretum Meets the World’s Plants and Peoples

    7:00pm to 8:30pm

    Location: 

    Weld Hill Research Building, Arnold Arboretum, 1300 Centre St., Boston

    Join the Arnold Arboretum’s Director William (Ned) Friedman for the annual Director's Series! To celebrate the Arboretum's sesquicentennial, this year's series will explore the Magic and Meaning of a Garden of Trees. Over the course of four sessions, we will trace the Arnold’s significance in the landscape architecture movement, value for the people of Boston, and leadership in creating global connections between plants and people.

    This session will include brief presentations and a moderated panel. The program is free and is offered both in person and livestreamed.

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    2022 Jul 09

    MassQ Ball 2022: Origin

    2:00pm to 7:00pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    The MassQ Ball 2022: Origin will feature the diverse artistic expressions of Boston’s communities of color. Interact with the landscape in new and creative ways, transform into a walking work of art through the practice of MassQing (a ritual application of paint to the face derived from ancient traditions of body decoration), and enjoy performances and art work by Boston cultural artists including:

    2:00pm–4:00pm:

    • ...

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    2022 Jul 07

    Bonsai and Penjing Information at the Arnold Arboretum

    Repeats every week on Sunday, Thursday until Sun Jul 24 2022 .
    11:00am to 1:00pm

    11:00am to 1:00pm
    11:00am to 1:00pm
    11:00am to 1:00pm
    11:00am to 1:00pm
    11:00am to 1:00pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Visit the Bonsai and Penjing Pavilion from 11am–1pm to learn about this collection of historic trees from our knowledgeable docents.

    Learn more.

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    2022 Jun 26

    MassQ Ball 2022: Origin | Making of Ceremonial Vessels

    1:00pm to 3:00pm

    Location: 

    Hemlock Hill and Conifer Collection, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Led by Bengali culture worker Pampi, this audience participatory workshop allows attendees to weave love letters into hand-crafted ceremonial vessels for their loved ones. Vessels will be fashioned out of natural materials sourced from the Arboretum grounds and displayed in the MassQ Ball on July 9.

    Learn more and RSVP for this event.

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    2022 May 08

    Lilac Sunday

    10:00am to 3:00pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Join us for the first Lilac Sunday since 2019! We’ll be celebrating 150 years of Arboretum history and 112 Lilac Sundays.

    Experience the springtime bloom of our renowned collection of nearly 400 lilacs. Visit for tours with Arboretum experts, hands-on children’s programming, and more.

    Learn more.

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    2022 May 07

    Ukrainian Plants of the Arboretum Tour

    11:00am to 12:00pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum (Hunnewell Building), 125 Arborway, Boston

    Ukrainian culture is rich with references to the natural world. Join a one-hour walking tour with Arboretum Horticulturist Brendan Keegan. Learn about plants within the Arboretum's collections that are notable in Ukrainian history, cuisine, agriculture, and more. The tour is in support of our colleagues at botanical institutions throughout Ukraine.

    Learn more and register.

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    2022 Mar 29

    Celebrating a Sesquicentennial: The Founding of the Arnold Arboretum

    2:00pm to 3:00pm

    Location: 

    Livestreamed or at Weld Hill Research Building, 1300 Centre St., Boston

    The Arnold Arboretum was founded on Friday, March 29, 1872. Exactly 150 years later, we invite you to join Lisa Pearson, Head of the Arboretum Library and Archives, for a special sesquicentennial lecture! Pearson will discuss the earliest benefactors of the Arboretum, the events surrounding the founding of the institution, and the busy first two decades during which the infrastructure and living collections were installed on the grounds.

    This event will also be livestreamed to YouTube. To sign up for the virtual livestream instead,...

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