Brochures
Visitor's Guide to The Arboretum
Welcome to The Arboretum, designated our state’s official Botanical Garden in 2000. Our mission is to showcase Kentucky landscapes and serve as a resource for environmental and horticultural education, research, and conservation.
Download Visitor's Guide (PDF)
Fitness Guide to the Walk Across Kentucky
This nearly two-mile paved path around The Arboretum showcases the seven geophysical regions of Kentucky. As an ongoing project, the Walk currently has in place canopy trees for each of the regions and a native understory.
From Foraging to Farming
As prehistoric peoples domesticated plants and came to rely on them for food, the plants domesticated the people. First as foragers, and later as gardeners and farmers, plants tied people ever more closely to the land.
Download From Foraging to Farming Brochure (PDF)
Oaks
There are over 400 species of oaks in the Northern Hemisphere. Most are trees, but some are small enough to be classified as shrubs. About 70 species are found in North America. Twenty species are thought to be native to Kentucky.
Shrubs
Visitors can locate and appreciate the many species of native shrubs that grow in the Walk Across Kentucky Collection. The Arboretum currently is home to over 70 species, and the collection continues to grow as new plants become available.
Download Shrubs Brochure (PDF)
Native Grasses & Sedges
To most people, an Arboretum is all about the nurturing of trees. Actually, The Arboretum tries to cultivate a respect for a wide range of plant life. Efforts are now underway to increase the representation of important and interesting grass species.
Download Native Grasses & Sedges Brochure (PDF)
Wildflowers
Native wildflowers are threatened by development, the spread of exotic-invasive species, and by collectors who dig them from the wild. Buy only from nurseries that propagate the plants they sell.
Download Wildflowers Brochure (PDF)
Prairie
Prairie Grasslands are one of the most misunderstood and under-appreciated ecosystems in North America. Pre-settlement Kentucky may have had 25% of its land in prairies and grasslands. In Kentucky, less than 1,500 acres of grasslands exist today.
Download Prairie Brochure (PDF)
Wetlands
Wetlands are a very important, and often underestimated, natural resource. Vernal wetlands in particular provide a breeding ground for many beneficial species, such as salamanders and frogs, as well as shelter and water for birds and mammals.
Download Wetlands Brochure (PDF)
Home Demonstration Garden
The Home Demonstration Garden occupies four acres bounded by a fence at the center of The Arboretum. Along with the Walk Across Kentucky path, it was among the first features of The Arboretum to be developed in the early 1990s.
Download Home Demonstration Garden Brochure (PDF)
Birds of The Arboretum
Over 115 species of birds have been documented on The Arboretum grounds. The Arboretum’s rich diversity of “habitat examples” representing the spectrum of Kentucky flora attracts a wide variety of birds — both migrants and year-round residents.
Download Birds of the Arboretum Brochure (PDF)
Map to Garden Treasures
Have fun playing The Arboretum Garden Game! The Arboretum is a living museum of plants. Some plants you will see are trees and shrubs that have stems and branches made of wood. Other plants include flowers, vegetables, and grasses.