Welcome to the Grimm’s Gardens Arboretum! We are glad to offer tours of the arboretum and welcome guests to follow the mowed trail around the outside. Please call ahead for tours.
The Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines an arboretum as a place where trees, shrubs and other plants are cultivated for scientific and educational purposes. Here at our arboretum we are doing just that. Doug Grimm recieves ornamental tree packages from J Frank Schmidt Nursery in Boring, Oregon. These packages contain a variety of new trees which are tested for weather tolerance, high pH tolerance, and drought tolerance at our arboretum.
How It Started
Grimm’s Gardens arboretum consists of approximately thirty acres of former row-crop ground. In 1985, the first of this ground was taken out of crop production and seedling trees of hackberry, red cedar, Austrian pine, and autumn olives were planted to form a shelter belt. Then, ten years later, more shelter belts were added. In some of these, burr oaks, red oaks, white oaks and scarlet oaks were planted for large deciduous trees. This was just the beginning.
Early on it was easy to see that seed-grown trees of different species planted in very similar soil grew differently. Some were fast, others not so fast; some developed acorns and seeds at a young age, and some many years later. A few trees developed great fall color, while held their leaves into the winter and others did not. We decided to start planting a tree test plot.
Trees in the Arboretum
Since the early years of this arboretum, we have planted extensive plantings of oaks, maples and elms. We also have smaller plantings of:
- Linden (Tilia)
- Ginkgo biloba
- Honeylocust (Gleditsia)
- Hackberry (Celtis)
- Zelkova
- Crabapple (Malus)
- Cherry (Prunus)
- Poplar, Aspen, & Cottonwood (Populus)
- Beech (Fagus)
- Catalpa
- Dogwood (Cornus)
- Kentucky Coffeetree (Gymnocladus)
- Ash (Fraxinus)
- Walnut (Juglans)
- Yellowwood (Cladrastis)
- Golden Raintree (Koelreuteria)
- Mulberry (Morus)
- Flowering Pear (Pyrus)
- Sycamore and Planetree (Platanus)
- Tulip Tree (Liriodendron)
- Magnolia
- Willow (Salix)
- Baldcypress (Taxodium)
- Cork Tree (Phellodendron)
- Hardy Rubber Tree (Eucommia)
- Larch (Larix)
- Fir (Abies)
- Spruce (Picea)
- Pine (Pinus)
- Arborvitae (Thuja)
Often, the JFS sends us new species of trees to add to the arboretum. Many of these are not listed for our Zone, so they are being tested for Zone hardiness. Springtime at the arboretum is one of the best times to come visit, because we have planted crabapples along the road and flowering trees along the drive to Doug’s house.
Caring for the Trees
All of our plantings are watered well when they are planted in the fall. Any additional watering is only done the following summer, and only if it is extremely dry. Because of time constraints, there are many years when trees go unwatered. But now that Doug is semi-retired and lives permanently in the arboretum, he has developed watering plans for various areas.
Using drought to test trees has proven to be very beneficial. We have been able to determine that the Acer platanoides ‘Royal Red’ all survived through their first summer of establishment. But the more commonly used ‘Crimson King’ cultivar, planted the same time, under the same conditions, and from the same bare root source, all died. This is just one of the many things we have learned in our arboretum.
Also, we started using bulk sawdust as mulch around our trees in 2016. This mulch is recycled from hog trailers at a local company just 6 miles away. By reusing their mulch, we get the added benefit of semi-composted pig manure and nutrients.
How it is Going in the Arboretum
We are currently using GPS mapping as a way to track all of our trees. It is our purpose in developing the arboretum to have an educational place to learn how trees grow and which trees grow best in our climate. And that it can also be used as a park for people and their pets to exercise and enjoy the beauty of nature. We invite you out to view the arboretum for yourself!
Things to Look For
Besides just trees, we also have a 5 acre U-pick blueberry patch, which opens in July (call first to find out times). There is also a growing peach and apple orchard, and a hazelnut test plot. The pond to the north will be available for Walk-in Fishing starting in 2025. If you are a walker, then enjoy the trail and trees. But there is more!
Because we have trees, there are a lot of things that go with them. A variety of wildlife can be found throughout the arboretum, including:
- Ring-necked pheasants
- Bobwhite quail
- Various songbirds
- Owls
- Pollinators
- Butterflies
- Bees
- Hawks
- Moths
- Gall-makers
We live in a very fast-paced society today with little time and very few places to truly be able to get away and unwind from the noise of the interstate or the busy highways. Our setting in the country is truly a country farm. We hope you can take time to come relax, unwind, and enjoy—and maybe even learn a little about trees – for “Life is a shade better under a tree”.
