Taltree Arboretum & Gardens

The heart of any arboretum or botanic garden is its plant collections. Taltree’s collections typically focus on woody and herbaceous plants that tolerate our challenging clay soils and long, cold winters. The oak tree (Quercus spp.) is a natural for these conditions and as a result we have numerous oaks in our collection. Our northwest Indiana native oaks as well as interesting hybrids can be seen in the gardens and wooded areas of the arboretum.

For insight into the wide range of oak species and hybrids from around the world, visit the Oak Islands exhibit, which showcases more than 40 different oak species native to Europe, Asia and North America. These trees are planted in “islands” along with companion plantings. Each of the three areas contain trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants that form plant communities that closely replicate the natural environments from which the oaks originate.

Our growing Viburnum collection can be found throughout the Welcome Garden, Meyer Memorial Pavilion Gardens and in the Oak Islands exhibit. It consists of many different species of this versatile shrub. Other collections include members of the rose family (Rosa spp. concentrated in the Hitz Family Rose Garden), the Native Plant Collection (in the Native Plant Garden) and the Dogwood Collection (Cornus spp.), located throughout the arboretum.