Urban Arboretum of University City

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Urban Arboretum of University City gives the following descriptive information:

Highlights the remarkable collection of trees and ornamental plants available for public enjoyment in this part of Philadelphia. The collection reflects the neighborhood's long history of gardening and its special heritage of botanical "exchanges" of American native plants and imported "exotics." That heritage continues today in an ever-evolving public landscape of remarkable diversity and a community commitment to greening and gardening.

The area’s rich diversity of plants was made possible by a natural diversity in this area because it is at the border of different geological and climate zones. This diversity was promoted by plant exchanges, both native and “exotic,” initiated by early American plant hunters and botanists, like John and William Bartram of nearby Bartram’s Garden, and horticulturalists/collectors such as William Hamilton of The Woodlands.

The Urban Arboretum of University City is a collection of trees and shrubs that grow along the streets and in the public green spaces of an area of Philadelphia west of the Schuylkill River to 52nd Street. Its botanical complexity mirrors the diversity--of neighborhoods, or architecture and of peoples--of University City.

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