Call for a monthly calendar of events. An expert will immediately recognize the Arboretum as an excellent example of a mature Beech-Magnolia forest. Others will simply enjoy walking the paths of one of Louisiana's most beautiful, inspirational and quiet woodlands. While a park is usually designed for recreational use, an arboretum is a less contrived section of land containing either natural growth or planting, grown for scientific or educational purposes. Many trees, shrubs, and flowers are labeled and easily accessible to curious fingertips, transforming the area into a living botanical museum.
Arboretums are certainly nor new.
Oriental emperor Shen Ming had one 2,800 years before the birth of Christ, and Aristotle designed one in Athens as an education forum. Royal courts throughout Europe began developing botanical gardens during the 1300s and the United States National Arboretum was established in 1927. The Louisiana State Arboretum is large - more than 300 acres of natural growth, embellished with additional plantings of species that are indigenous to the state. Atypical of the terrain in the Louisiana prairie land, the topography of the Arboretum is varied and dramatic. The landscape ranges from nearly flat along the Walker Branch of Lake Chicot to relatively steep slopes along the terrace ridges.