The Brenton Arboretum: A Personal Story

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The Arboretum’s unique green roof Pavilion is a popular destination for visitors. people on the grounds and in cars at any one time. This could diminish the powerfully tranquil experience of the place. This is a bit of a contradiction: to be of good public service, we need members and visitors to increase revenue, but we don’t want too much going on at one time, which could be distracting. It turned out something else was about to become a bigger distraction. In 2003, our central Iowa utility company, MidAmerican Energy, proposed to run a new high power line through our area from the west and along the south side of the arboretum. They wanted to do this to satisfy the growing demand for power in the western Des Moines suburbs, which were expanding vigorously. This I saw as a real threat to our goals and the overall quality of the experience at the arboretum. It would create, so I reasoned, a repugnant visual blight and detract from our potential as a place for quiet, serene enjoyment. It would diminish us. Specialized lawyers were hired to argue our case before the Iowa Commerce Commission. With the help of many other landowners, we prevailed. Another real discussion took place beginning in these years, both at the staff and board levels, as to the nature of our collections. At the outset, trees of many species were planted in accordance with the master plan. We had created a museum of living plants; in this case, trees and shrubs. We started to ask ourselves more questions. What determines the quality of the collections in this museum? What should the collections include? How do we measure the quality, and what difference do the collections make in our pursuit to create a place for quiet enjoyment and education? These questions took thought. We undertook a management assessment program sponsored by the American Association of Museums, now called the American Alliance of Museums, which 66
helped. But how much should we be concerned with the uniqueness of our collections and their standing in the world of arboreta? It would take time to answer these questions and, in reality, they will never be fully answered. What we know is that there needs to be a balance between what the general public wants, what we can afford, the scientific excellence of our collection, and our overall purposes. In more recent years we have strived to continuously improve the diversity, quality, and usefulness of our woody plant collections by collecting wild seed, taking cuttings, and through the selection of native species and superior commercially available cultivars. The board of directors overwhelmingly felt then, and feels now, that the general purpose of our collections is to provide a setting for quiet enjoyment and education. That means the work that goes into our special collections, including detailed record keeping, should not dominate our resources but at the same time will always be a central part of what we do. We want the public to feel that they can see here what they might wish to know more about or plant. In 2004, at my invitation, Guy Sternberg, a well-known tree man who lectures nationwide, came to the arboretum. He operates Starhill Farms near Springfield, Illinois, and is the founder of the International Oak Society. Sue and I later visited him at Starhill where he grows arguably the world’s most diverse collection of oaks amassed from seeds he collected or that others sent him. I wanted him to comment on our collections and goals. Guy taught Andy and me that in order to set The Brenton Arboretum apart from others, we need to be highly selective as to the provenance of our plantings and plant seeds or young trees from only superior stock. This attitude is now ingrained in us. In recent years, Andy has gone on many seed collection trips. Guy also was emphatic that we pursue one or more signature or special collections, which in time could become nationally Female Osage orange (Maclura pomifera) produce distinctive large and heavy fruits in the fall. 67
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View to the west from the cottonwoo
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I feel a need to briefly describe t
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I should make one thing clear befor
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species, they became acquaintances,
Page 15 and 16: Aerial and satellite photos of Bren
Page 17 and 18: After becoming quite familiar with
Page 19 and 20: I told them about my idea of taking
Page 21 and 22: idea of individual clusters of simi
Page 23 and 24: farm west of the city. While not di
Page 25 and 26: Thanks to the Bickelhaupts and many
Page 27 and 28: een his world at the Morton Arboret
Page 29 and 30: I had one piece of the puzzle in pl
Page 31 and 32: The chief purpose of the arboretum
Page 33 and 34: a small water pump. The tank and pu
Page 35 and 36: Spring was in bloom, but there was
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Page 39 and 40: Planting day was near. Now I needed
Page 41 and 42: We built a road through the arboret
Page 43 and 44: three of us decided to use the smal
Page 45 and 46: The year began with a bang. We were
Page 47 and 48: On July 28, 1998, The Brenton Arbor
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Page 53 and 54: In August, we printed our first gen
Page 55 and 56: Late in 2000, Crow Construction Com
Page 57 and 58: It would have been disappointing to
Page 59 and 60: We formally dedicated the arboretum
Page 61 and 62: Riordan as our lead, we reached out
Page 63 and 64: As noted earlier, we knew the very
Page 65: The next four years would lead the
Page 69 and 70: By the end of 2006, the arboretum w
Page 71 and 72: When I started this history, I thou
Page 73 and 74: Our special collections were becomi
Page 75 and 76: The Vista Room offers sweeping view
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Page 79 and 80: 1995 Winter: Buz first considers th
Page 81 and 82: I want to thank my dear friend Meli
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