CROSBY ARBORETUM

Picayune, MS, USA
Ed Blake, Andropogon, Fay Jones, Bill Wolverton

Arboretums are botanical collections of trees that, as part of their missions, are used or intended for scientific study. They are a key component of imperial and colonial extractive landscapes, which often housed plant collections from around the world in designed habitats that allowed different trees to grow far from their home climates, in addition to species growing spontaneously in the geographic area around the arboretums. In addition to their role in demonstrating and maintaining plant species, arboretums, particularly those built after the 19th century, have come to serve ecological functions within broader landscapes, in which they help generate diverse microclimates in cities, increasing air circulation, providing oxygen, and humidifying areas. The Crosby Arboretum was designed in 1979 to preserve, protect and display native plants and the communities found across the Pearl River drainage basin. The masterplan for Crosby Arboretum was explicitly a work in ecological design, which converted surrounding agricultural lands into wetlands through a process of rehabilitation and regrading. A series of landscape journeys are trails that take visitors around the Arboretum, and holistically approach the landscape through interpretive signage and an approach to the landscape of a process, rather than a product. Across the arboretum, assemblages of plants that were identified through ecological surveys of the surrounding water basin were planted, including a pitcher plant bog in the converted agricultural fields. In addition, the Crosby Arboretum is managed using a variety of techniques including active burning. The landscape is simultaneously functional and didactic, and is considered a pioneer in ecological design.

1981 - 1984
104 acres
58 feet above sea level

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