August, 1924 Dr. Frederic S. Lee , President, Board of Managers, New York Botanical Garden, New York City. Dear Sir : This Report [1] is submitted at your request to set forth the results to date of our investigation and study of the grounds of the Botanical Garden, as a basis for comprehensive plans for their improvement. It is a revision, in the light of further discussion and study, of a preliminary report, made in December, 1923. [1] The reading of this Report will be facilitated by consulti

The basic need in the improvement of the grounds, without meeting which other improvements will be nugatory, wasteful and transitory in effect, is that of greatly increasing the quantity and quality of maintenance—involving a correspondingly large increase in the annual expenditure for maintenance. This matter is so fundamental and the manner in which the possibilities of annual maintenance control all other decisions is so direct and so far-reaching, that it seems necessary to discuss it at som

As previously indicated, no sharp line can be drawn between maintenance of the sort which ensures progressive improvement (as a result of the controlled growth of long-lived plants and associations of plants), and, on the other hand, improvements of detail which are not strictly maintenance but which, although not very notable individually, are important because of their collective and cumulative effect. There are many opportunities for this sort of improvement of detail in the Botanical Garden,

1. Rhododendron Glade. One of the most beautiful, striking and completely self-contained and independent new features which could be added to the Botanical Garden is that which has been for some time under favorable consideration by the Director-in-Chief in the so-called “Lake Valley”—a great naturalistic exhibition of rhododendrons (including azaleas) and of plants suitable for association therewith, in such a manner as to make a notably impressive landscape unit, a valley of rich foliage and b

The successive steps in the formation of routes of automobile travel within and through and near Bronx Park, largely controlled as they have been by considerations entirely independent of the Botanical Garden, and the interjection of the Botanical Garden into the area traversed by or affected by these routes, have resulted in a situation quite unprecedented, so far as we know, in any of the important botanical gardens of the world. Many of these botanical gardens are substantially self-contained

Three main problems are here presented which we have found very perplexing, and the best solution of which we do not yet feel confident that we have found. One problem is that of the appearance of the Museum building in relation to its surroundings and of those surroundings in relation to it. The second problem is that of the most effective use, for the purposes of the Garden, of the area immediately surrounding the Museum and lying between it and Conservatory Range No. 1 and westward to the rai

The purpose of this Report is in part to point out needs and opportunities for bettering the grounds of the New York Botanical Garden, in part to set before the Managers, some of the rather complicated and far-reaching considerations which ought constantly to be kept in view whenever a decision affecting any part of the grounds confronts them, in order that they may make each decision wisely for the Garden as a whole and avoid snap-judgments. It is not in itself a program, but it may become a us

In this class the labor upkeep for the year consists of the equivalent of one man per year for ²⁄₃ to 2 acres. It comprises such areas as described under (e) on page 7 , examples being the Rose Garden, Herbaceous Garden, the gardening effects immediately around Conservatory Range No. 1. There are about 40 acres of this class in the Garden. A Public Rose Garden Maintenance costs Rate per year = 1.327 acres per man. A Private Formal (walled-in) Garden , a part being a rose garden. Area ⁴⁄₅ acre. R

In this class the labor upkeep for the year consists of the equivalent of one man per year for 2-6 acres. It comprises such areas as described under (d) on page 7 , examples being the Cherry Garden, Fruticetum, and perhaps the lawn areas around the Museum. There are about 75 acres of this class in the Garden. A Suburban Place Design rather complex, outline of lawn very irregular. Area 1.80 acres, composed as follows: Maintenance costs Rate per year = 2¹⁄₄ acres per man. Shrubbery and Lawns on a

In this class the labor upkeep for the year consists of the equivalent of one man per year for 6-18 acres. It comprises such areas as described under (b) and (c) on page 7 , examples being the general woodlands of the Garden and the North Meadow. There are about 265 acres of this class in the Garden. A Municipal Park , of a simple kind, consisting of tree and shrub plantations, and large areas of meadow or lawn roughly mown. Area, 103 acres. Maintenance costs Rate per year = 9.04 acres per man.

More in detail, our ideas as to the Rhododendron Glade and the ends to be aimed at in its establishment are as follows, subject, of course, to modification by further conferences with Dr. Britton. The scheme of planting would be such as to produce in a large general way and at all times the esthetic qualities of beauty and picturesqueness . The effect of hybrid rhododendrons or azaleas in variety at times of bloom could be gorgeously magnificent so that the beholder might be fairly carried away

adopted November 20, 1924 Resolved , that the Report of Olmsted Brothers be approved in principle as a guide for future treatment of the grounds in the Garden except that there be reserved for future consideration that part of the Report which deals with the proposed modifications of the present road system; and that this Report be printed....