The Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum located in the heart of Cincinnati, Ohio, is a heritage collection of tombstones, as well as trees and shrubs. Opened in 1845, Spring Grove Cemetery is the second largest cemetery in the United States and now is an historic national landmark known for the arboretum’s landscaped vistas.
For plant lovers visiting Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum, it is the wide landscaped park-like settings that steal the eye. The towering old-growth trees and mass of flowering shrubs are awe-inspiring for gardeners. They also serve to soften the stone monuments and limestone buildings on the grounds, providing a cool calming environment to visit.
Landscaped Cemetery a National Historic Landmark
Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum was designated as a United States national historic landmark in 2007, as a representative model of a nineteenth century landscape cemetery design. There are 730 acres at Spring Grove, 400 of which are landscaped. The lawn landscape design developed by Adolph Strauch uses small individual markers to encircle a central monument marker as is seen in the civil war memorials.
The arboretum has 14 man-made lakes created and 1200 tree and shrub species planted. The rolling landscape is intersected with long winding driveways marked with colored lines enabling visitors to retrace their way back to the cemetery entrance. The dark eerie 1880s bridge over an entrance road was once a railway track, now brightened up on each side by Japanese Viburnum ‘Snowball’ flowering in the spring.
An undeveloped section called the Woodlands is a small area without monuments or burials. Filled with ravines and a forest of beech and oak trees, it is a reminder of how extensive the arboretum is, but still surrounded on all sides by a metropolitan city.
Although a home to people who have passed, the arboretum has accommodations to celebrate life, as well. The limestone Norman Chapel is an original Spring Grove Cemetery building used back in the day when carriages were pulled by horses. Now, it and the stone bridge are popular places to be photographed memorializing wedding celebrations.
National and State Champion Trees in Cincinnati
There are 21 state and 2 national champion trees located in Spring Grove’s arboretum in Cincinnati. The national champion trees are Halesia, two-winged silverbell and a little silverbell. Among the state winners are native bald cypress and the largest state champion, a non-native Cedrus libani, called Cedar of Lebanon.
Measurements for big trees are taken of the trunk circumference, height and crown width. Champion trees are measured again on five-year cycles.
Trees and Shrubs Named for Spring Grove Arboretum
Spring Grove’s designation as an arboretum makes it a valuable resource for horticulturists and students studying trees and shrubs. Among the trees are two named for Spring Grove Arboretum, a dogwood and an arborvitae.
Cornus florida ‘Grovflor’ Spring Grove® is a dogwood that grows 15’ - 20’ tall and hardy in zones 5 – 8. The near white sterile flowers open in mid spring and have red fall color. Cornus florida ‘Grovflor’ does not set seed; Spring Grove Cemetery is the location of the original plants.
Thuja plicata ‘Grovpli’ Spring Grove® is a Western arborvitae. It has a tight pyramidal form with branching to the ground and a strong central leader. It grows at approximately 2’ per year. Deer avoid arborvitae evergreens and Thuja plicata ‘Grovpli’ withstands heavy snow loads but is hardy in zones 5 – 7. This plant should be planted in moist well-draining soil.
Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum is an historic national landmark located five minutes from the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens in Ohio. Gardeners will find many trees and shrubs at the arboretum to study; do not forget to bring a journal or camera as plants are labeled for accurate recording.
Garden readers interested in other cemetery gardens may wish to read about Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Permission received for all photos used in this article.
Chris Eirschele - Chris writes on plants grown and gardens explored; she is a member of the Garden Writers Association.
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