Our Arboretum

Throughout the years many trees have been planted on Mount Hope Farm grounds, and we now have more than 60 species and cultivars labeled around the property. In recognition of this, in 2019 our Farm was officially awarded Level One Arboretum status by the international ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program.

An effort underway today is to continue to log and mark all our existing specimen trees so visitors can learn more about each species. Watch for the black metal markers that sit at the base of many of our trees which indicate the common and Latin names and the region where the tree is native to.

One of the most special trees on the property is the Sequoia giganteum, just this side of the South Pasture. This species is considered the largest type of tree on earth. Although our giganteum is still small in comparison to most, one day it will tower over all the other surrounding trees. Sequoia trees can grow to about 250 feet tall with a diameter exceeding 25 feet in their native environment of the Sierra Nevada in the western US, but will not likely attain such a stature in the northeast.

Today we are working to expand our Arboretum collection and will soon be launching a “Plant a Tree” program through which members of the community will be able to donate / sponsor the planting of a new tree from a list of species of interest. A key part of this program will be in our new Celebration Grove, an area by our ponds where we invite the public to sponsor a tree to recognize a family wedding or other celebration or to honor a loved one. Details here.