Berry Botanic Garden facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Berry Botanic Garden |
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Gazebo in the woods
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| Type | Botanical |
| Location | Portland, Oregon, United States |
| Area | 6.5 acres (26,000 m2) |
| Operated by | The Friends of Berry Botanic Garden |
| Status | Closed |
| Collections | Primroses Alpine & subalpine Rhododendrons Pacific Northwest |
| Website | berrybot.org |
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Rae Selling Berry Garden and House
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| Built | 1939 |
| Architect | Reuben T. Sinex (house) and John Grant (landscape near house) |
| NRHP reference No. | 02001637 |
| Added to NRHP | December 31, 2002 |
The Berry Botanic Garden was a special botanical garden located in southwest Portland, Oregon, in the United States. It was famous for its large collections of alpine plants, rhododendrons, primulas (primroses), and lilies. The garden was also known for its important plant-conservation program.
One of its most important features was a large seed bank. This bank helped protect rare or endangered plants from the Pacific Northwest. The seed bank officially started in 1983. It was believed to be the first in the U.S. focused only on saving rare native plants.
The garden was created in the 1930s by a Portland resident named Rae Selling Berry. After she passed away in 1976, a nonprofit group called The Friends of Berry Botanic Garden bought it. This group managed the garden, which covered about 6.5 acres (26,000 m2). It also had the biggest public rock garden on the West Coast.
In January 2010, the garden's board announced they would sell the property. This was due to money problems. The property was sold in February 2011. By November 2011, the garden's conservation program and seed bank moved. They are now part of the Environmental Science and Management Program at Portland State University. This program is now called the Rae Selling Berry Seed Bank & Plant Conservation Program.
Discovering the Garden's Past
The Berry Botanic Garden started in the 1930s. It began as the personal plant collection of Rae Selling Berry (1881–1976). She got seeds from famous plant explorers like Frank Kingdon-Ward and Joseph Rock. Rae also collected alpine plants herself. She found them in the mountains of the Western United States, British Columbia, and Alaska.
In 1938, Rae set up the garden at its final location. In 1978, it became a public, nonprofit organization. A two-story Bungalow style house was built there in 1939. Reuben T. Sinex designed this house.
Rae Berry grew up in Portland. She developed a strong interest in plants. She read about plant trips to Europe and Asia. She even helped fund some of these trips to get seeds. By the mid-1930s, Rae had too many plants for her home in Irvington. So, she and her husband moved to a new property. This land was just north of Lake Oswego. It had springs, creeks, a ravine, a meadow, and a marsh. Parts of it were covered with Douglas-fir trees.
Rae Berry's Dedication to Plants
When creating the garden, Rae focused on "special plants." She loved rhododendrons, primulas, and alpine plants. In 1964, she won an award from the Garden Club of America for her plant knowledge. In 1965, she received the first Award of Excellence from the American Rhododendron Society given to a woman. She was also honored by the American Rock Garden Society.
Rae continued to expand her collection even after she turned 80. She took trips to find Oregon's only primrose, Primula cusickiana. At 90, she was still planting seeds in the gardens. She passed away at home when she was 96 years old.
Becoming a Public Garden
In 1978, two years after Rae's death, The Friends of The Berry Botanic Garden bought the estate. This was a nonprofit group. They raised $300,000 to buy the garden. Donations came from places like the Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust in Scotland. Plant societies and other groups also helped. The Friends' goal was to "preserve, maintain, study, and add to the plant collections."
By 1983, people discovered that 39 native plant species in the garden were rare or endangered. This led to the creation of the Seed Bank for Rare and Endangered Species of the Pacific Northwest. This was thought to be the first seed bank in the U.S. focused only on saving rare native plants. The seed bank holds over 14,000 seed packages. These are from more than 300 rare or endangered plants of the Pacific Northwest.
The garden and house were added to the National Register of Historic Places in December 2002. They were listed as the Rae Selling Berry Garden and House. In January 2010, The Friends decided to sell the garden due to money issues. But they planned to keep the conservation program going with help from Portland State University (PSU).
Exploring the Garden's Plant Collections
The garden kept growing even after it became a nonprofit. It had several important plant collections.
Primroses: A Colorful Collection
One major collection was primulas, often called primroses. Many of these started from seeds collected during plant trips to Asia. The garden also got new types through international seed exchanges. Primroses are mostly found in mountains in the Northern Hemisphere. Rae Berry even created some new types herself, like "Snow Lady" and "Purple Spark."
Alpine and Subalpine Plants
Another big collection was high-mountain alpine and subalpine plants. Rae kept the most delicate ones in special cold frames or log beds. She grew her collection by trading with other gardeners and going on her own plant-finding trips. After 1980, a log-bed section became a rock garden with an alpine bog. The Insiders' Guide to Portland calls it "the largest public rock garden on the West Coast."
Rhododendrons: A Forest of Blooms
Rhododendrons were a third major collection. Many of their seeds came from plant explorers in Asia. These plants started at the Berry family's old home and were moved to the garden. Rae's collection grew to include over 2,000 plants, representing 160 different types. Smaller rhododendrons grew in the rock garden. Two types, R. decorum and R. calophytum, formed a forest of over 150 mature plants.
Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest
Native plants from the Pacific Northwest made up a fourth important collection. This included about 200 of the roughly 5,000 native plants in the region. You could find these plants all over the garden. They were especially along a native-plant trail, in the rock garden, and in the water garden.
Lilies: A Sanctuary for Wild Beauty
Lilies formed a fifth major collection. It started in 1979. The garden's board decided to protect many types of the Lilium genus. These lilies are found in the wild in the Northwest and along the West Coast. The lilies were stored as seeds or planted in good spots throughout the garden.
See also
In Spanish: Jardín botánico Berry para niños
