The AABGA (the American Association of Botanic Gardens and Arboreta) recently became the APGA, (the American Public Garden Association). On the surface, this change signifies a greater emphasis on the public role of botanic gardens, and a marginalization of the title “arboretum”. While most of the public will not notice, much less care about these developments, they will also not respond in the way the organization’s leadership hopes, in my opinion.

Botanical gardens in the US are already mostly public, so the change in the title seems unnecessary if not redundant. Also, there are many arboreta, including the world-class Arnold Arboretum, Morton Arboretum and Holden Arboretum. “Arboretum” is a superb four-syllable word, more majestic than “garden”. No one has a backyard arboretum, for example.

I hope these are no more than superficial changes, and do not indicate a withdrawal of the APGA from the concerns of private botanic gardens, such as ours at Heronswood, and the many others scattered like seeds across the nation. Indeed, many famous public gardens began as private gardens. The Garden Conservancy has great ability and considerable resources, but they cannot be expected to become the only “feeder” of future public gardens and arboreta. The APGA should remember its roots, both shallow and deep, and bear in mind that private botanic gardens are not monolithic in either origins or goals. Many strive to serve a narrow interest, such as plant collections, breeding new cultivars, or conservation. Their “public” exists more in time than in space, and such a trendy concept as a “social mission”—perhaps appropriate for other gardens—has, I would guess, little meaning to most of these mavericks.

The APGA would benefit greatly from a closer connection with small, privately held botanic gardens that generate new ideas for garden design, land use and native plant management, as well as exciting new cultivars destined for the world’s gardens.

Perhaps a consortium made up of The Garden Conservancy, The Public Garden Association and a group of garden clubs, private botanic gardens and arboreta would bring some of these issues and ideas forward.

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