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Fuel Your Curiosity

Every season. Something new to explore.

Reeves-Reed Arboretum offers 13.5 acres of natural beauty, including historic and contemporary gardens and six acres of woodland forest. Whether you are interested in gardening, hiking, art, bird watching, community involvement, or a place for quiet contemplation, the Arboretum has something for you. Photo courtesy of Stephen Harris, sph-photo.com.

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What's in Bloom

Plants are growing at the arboretum! Please scroll through our sliders below to see what is in bloom now!

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Horticulture

Reeves-Reed Arboretum is dedicated to preserving the past and imagining the future of American gardening. Our landscapes include natural woodlands, open vistas that owe much to 19th century visionaries like Andrew Downing and Frederick Law Olmsted (Olmsted's partner Calvert Vaux actually produced the first design for the property), and more formal gardens that exemplify the Country Place movement of the early 20th century.

The Historic Gardens

Three Reeves-Reed gardens are maintained as closely as possible to their original appearance, while the Time Capsule Garden moves through time and space.

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The Contemporary Gardens

From the bold plant combinations along the Welcome Walk to the more traditional Perennial Border, Reeves-Reed Arboretum’s many garden environments offer old and new.

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Horticultural Highlights

There’s always something in season at Reeves-Reed Arboretum. Here are 9 plants you won't want to miss during your visit.

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Freeman Medal Collection

Several of our plants have won the Montine McDaniel Freeman Horticulture Medal, the Garden Club of America's Plant of the Year award for native plants.

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The Woodland Trails

The Arboretum features almost 6 acres of woodland and nearly a mile of trails. Witness the tallest tulip poplar in Summit, as well as native shrubs and herbaceous plants.

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The Goats Are Coming!

The goats will return in October, so be sure to come for a visit and meet our friends from Green-Goats Farm in Rhinebeck, New York!

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History

Reeves-Reed Arboretum is listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places. Its estate and gardens represent design trends by prominent landscape architects of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Lenni Lenape Native Americans passed through the property on their route from the coastal areas near Elizabeth, NJ to Schooley's Mountain, further inland. During the Revolutionary period, the area was adjacent to the Old Sow Revolutionary War Cannon and the Signal Beacon atop Beacon Hill. Learn more about these early eras, as well as the Wisners, the founding family of "The Clearing" (as the Arboretum was originally called) and the Reeves and Reed families.

Prehistory

Long before European settlers came to this region, it was inhabited by the Lenni Lenape Indians, a mobile, hunter-gatherer society.

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Historical Highlights

The grounds of the Arboretum were once a bastion of resistance during the American Revolution.

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The Reeves, the Reeds & "The Clearing"

From 1889 through the founding of the Arboretum in 1974, three families put their impress on the buildings and grounds that now comprise Reeves-Reed Arboretum.

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Landscape Architecture

Three distinguished landscape architects of the late 19th and early 20th centuries – Calvert Vaux, Ellen Biddle Shipman, and Carl F. Pilat – left their mark at The Clearing.

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Exhibits

Reeves-Reed Arboretum is pleased to announce its newest art exhibition, Nature on the Move: Rhythmic Abstractions by Jesús Núñez. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Arboretum’s lush landscapes, this captivating showcase of abstract art will transport visitors into a realm where artistic imagination intertwines seamlessly with the beauty of the outdoors.

The art exhibit will be on view to the public September 23 – November 19. All works are for sale and the artist will donate 30% of sales to the arboretum. The Wisner House Gallery is open to the public from 10 am – 4 pm Tuesday through Sunday, except when closed for private events. Please check here for updated gallery hours. An artist’s reception will be held on November 5th from 2-3:30 pm. Questions about this exhibition can be directed to Office Manager Marilyn Foehrenbach at m.foehrenbach@reeves-reedarboretum.org.

Please click here for a full description of the exhibit. 

Reeves-Reed Arboretum - An Invitation to Explore...nature defined
908-273-8787
165 Hobart Ave, Summit, NJ 07901
Grounds Open
April 1 - October 31: 7am to 7pm
November 1 - March 31: 9am to 4pm

Office Hours: Tuesday - Friday 10am - 4pm


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