Mary M.B. Wakefield Estate & Arboretum
Institution Code:
BGCI Member: Yes
ArbNet Accredited: Level II
About the Mary M.B. Wakefield Estate & Arboretum
The Wakefield Estate & Arboretum was home to ten consecutive generations of the same family, beginning with John Davenport in 1706 and continuing through Mary “Polly” Wakefield, who died in 2004. Before her death, Polly created the Mary M. B. Wakefield Charitable Trust to preserve and restore the buildings and gardens that she and her predecessors built.
Polly Wakefield trained as a landscape architect and plant propagator. She developed her plant collection over a 50-year period, working closely with the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University where she studied propagation techniques. She developed her own collection from seeds and cuttings from trees of the Arnold Arboretum. Polly loved the Kousa dogwood and patented 8 cultivars that are cold hardy and have lovely fruit and flower displays. The Wakefield collection consists of more than 500 species and cultivars of woody plants. Plant material includes many Cornus, Acer, Magnolias and a large collection of conifers.
Main Address:
Mary M.B. Wakefield Estate & Arboretum
1465 Brush Hill Road
Milton
Massachusetts 02186 United States of America
Telephone:
Fax:
URL: http://wakefieldtrust.org/
Primary Email: dmerriam@comcast.net