Many beautiful gardens ornament the grounds at Cylburn, most are located near and around the Mansion.
Cylburn has a wide variety of beautifully planted flower gardens displaying shrubs, perennials and annuals. From the “named” gardens that honor those who have played important roles in Cylburn’s history to the colorful plantings that enhance the mansion and points around the grounds, each garden offers a collection of colors and textures that delight visitors throughout the year.
- South Gardens (in front of the mansion)
- West Gardens
- North Gardens (behind the mansion)
- East Gardens
Information for Visitors
- Free print maps of the gardens and more at the Vollmer Center
- Please stay on the walkways, paths, and open grass.
- Please do not pick anything, no matter how beautiful it looks! No digging!
- Please keep your dog on leash at all times and clean up pet waste.
Larrabee
The Larrabee garden is named for Barbara Larrabee . This space honors her extraordinary volunteerism. The garden demonstrates massed perennial plantings with year round seasonal interest. With much of the structure of this garden made up of trees in our collections, the ground plane can be thought of as planted in a manner flattering to trees. Keep an eye out across seasons for the transition of ostrich ferns ( Matueccia struthiopteris ) unfurling their fiddleheads in spring and splaying their spore laden “ostrich feathers” in winter. Fall boasts a show of blackberry lily (Iris domestica ) seed heads and monkshood ( Aconitum sp. ) flowers. Finally Track the growth of our Coral Bark maple ( Acer palmatum ‘Sango Kaku’ ) in the winter when it’s new red growth stands in contrast to the Japanese cedar ( Cryptomeria japonica ) planted behind. Most visits are best spent seated on the internal bench peacefully viewing Cylbun’s only water feature.
Nathans
The Nathans garden is named for Daniel Nathans, Nobel Laureate in Physiology and/or Medicine in 1978. The space and bench commemorates his life. This garden demonstrates options for planting in both shade and part sun conditions. This garden rolls from Clyburn’s best winterberry holly ( Ilex vertcillata ) display in winter to a fantastic spring sequence beginning with Viburnum ‘Dawn’ (Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’ ) and ending with a scented poet’s daffodil ( Narcissus poeticus ) and Cylburn’s largest blooming mass of hellebores ( Helleborus x hybridus). Two well sited Japanese maples provide great fall foliage displays, while summersweet shrubs (Clethra alnifolia ) and Palibin lilacs ( Syringa myeri ‘Palibin’ )provide summer scents. However, the biggest draws for this garden include the gazebo, prized for marriage proposals and photoshoots, and the striking root flare of Cylburns Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides ). One very special feature to us is Mrs. Joanne Nathans herself, who spends many hours helping us care for the garden.
Worthley
The Worthley garden is named for local botanist Elmer Worthey and commemorates his devotion to plant collecting. This garden is a collector’s garden dedicated to complementary plantings of many different plants in small quantities. One of Cylburn’s oldest Boxwood trees (Buxus sempervirens), a small collection of dwarf trees and shrubs, and a suckering mass of Doghobble (Leucothoe populifolia) comprise the bones of this garden. A sedum berm replete with cactus (Opuntia humifusa) masses and self- sown flowering annuals make up the foreground of this garden while the backside of the garden is dedicated to grasses and prairie plants. This garden even features a hardy banana plant (Musa basjoo).
Mansion Circle
The Mansion Circle garden was conceived in response to the loss of a very large walnut tree located within the circle. Designed as a connector between the Mansion front beds and the gardens downslope, the Mansion Circle can be thought of as a sunny perennial border of varying depths. Spring begins with ephemeral bulbs and dwarf fothergilla (Fothergilla gardenii) giving way to irises, allium, and poppies. By summer, most of the sun loving perennials are in full display. At this time, the lawn half of the circle boasts a canopy of pink blooms as the Crape myrtles (Lagerstroemia indica ‘Sioux’) begin their weeks long bloom cycle. Fall is marked by late blooming tender salvias and the brilliant foliage of the Arkansas bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii). Come in any season and sit within the stone niche located along the sole garden path. This garden in particular offers striking winter perennial structures like stalks and seed heads.
Mansion Front
Ryer
The Ryer garden commemorates Nancy Ryer, an avid gardener and Baltimore resident. While a little off the beaten path, this garden is idyllically nestled into the woodland edge. The garden is bound on either side by many of Cylburn’s azaleas. Combined with an understory layer of variegated dogwoods (Cornus kousa ‘Wolf Eyes’), this makes for a wonderful springtime destination while visiting the arboretum. When visiting the Ryer garden, be sure to locate the stone bench. This bench offers a sheltered view from the garden out toward the collections beyond. Keep an eye out for oyster shells and fairy gardens created annually by the Ryer family who still tirelessly helps maintain the space.
West Gardens
Three Sisters & Julie Smith
These Gardens commemorate a Cylburn volunteer and board member, Julie Girard Smith and the three sisters- Blanche V. Smith (Julie’s Mother) and sisters Isabelle Viault and Marguerite Hegemon. The space is a treasure trove of unusual plants displayed in pleasing groups and masses. Walk among the stone paths to find a restful retreat one of two stone benches perfectly perched for a view of passersby. In every season, visitors can find something in bloom or of interest. Beginning in spring, visit for the succession of ephemeral blooms featuring snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis and elwessii) and a suite of daffodils. It’s about this time that the Chinese Redbud (Cercis chinensis) erupts into bloom. In early summer, the garden sports Japanese Primrose (Primula japonica), various iris species, and even a tender Bog Sage (Salvia uliginosa). On the occasional Wednesday, you can even catch a glimpse of Caroline Russel working among the gardens she supports as a memorial to her family.
Moudry Woods
This island forest patch is the remnant nursery of Cylburn’s first Chief Horticulturist- Gerard Moudry. It is in this space where he and his staff grew up and stored woody plants grown for collections and elsewhere on the grounds. Aside from the alarming quantity of terracotta pot fragments, we also have living evidence in the form of multi-trunked trees grown from a collection of containers placed next to one another and never moved. My favorite example is the five leader Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua). The Moudry Woods is also home to a series of rain gardens and Cylburn’s future stumpery. One of the best ways to visit this section of the arboretum is along the path between Moudry and the Dwarf Conifer collection. Be sure to stop by in early spring to catch sight of the ephemeral blooms.
North Gardens
City Backyards
These gardens were born from the idea that Cylburn should be a place of inspiration for Baltimore City residents and all visitors alike. The City Backyard Gardens were originally developed as small fenced enclosures representing typical Baltimore City row home backyards. We hope to develop this space once again into backyard vignettes for demonstration purposes. Currently, these beds serve as “holding beds” for the Cylburn Arboretum Friends garden operations.
Shady Garden
Only “shady” in the lighting sense, this “shade” garden features some of the most robust Leatherleaf Mahonia (Mahonia bealei) around. Rich perennial groundcovers and established trees and shrubs comprise the garden. While the handsome Chinese Dogwoods (Cornus kousa) and impressively aged Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) are worthy of a look, do not overlook the Kingsville Dwarf Boxwood (Buxus microphylla ‘Kingsville Dwarf’) bred and grown by local nurseryman legend Henry Hohman.
East Gardens
Probst
This garden is nestled against the back of the Cylburn mansion, it has an air of age and establishment only possible with such massive False Cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera) and vine covered stone walls. Winter begins with Japanese Camellias (Camellia japonica clt.) blooming along the adjacent wall. Spring in the Probst garden is marked by a series of fantastic blooms beginning with the large witchazel (Hamamelis x intermedia), proceeding with a great stand of dwarf sweetbox (Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis), and culminating in the prolific blooms of the adjacent Chinese Fringe Flower (Loropetalum chinense). In summer, come relish in Cylburn’s finest Japanese Stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia). However, at any time of year one can enjoy a seat on the quiet shady bench next to what our youngest visitors call the castle pond.