![]() ![]() More than 230 species of trees now comprise the vast arboretum of the Vassar campus which began with the first plantings laid out by Matthew Vassar in 1865. The garden includes many of the plants mentioned in his works. In 1916, the Shakespeare Garden was planted to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare. ![]() There are weeping willows, weeping beech, weeping hemlocks, and red, silver, sugar, and striped maples. The college grounds are graced by elms, maples, beeches, a hornbeam, Russian olive trees, and even a cucumbertree magnolia, among others. Today, with much less secrecy, members of the senior class plant a tree or choose an existing tree to serve as their class tree. During those early years, tree planting ceremonies were held in secret, and class mementos were buried at the base of a chosen tree. Since the class of 1868 selected a swamp white oak to plant along Main Drive, the planting of class trees has been a tradition at Vassar. Today the campus trees are priceless.” (1) ![]() “When Matthew Vassar purchased the land on which to establish the college it was practically treeless. ![]()
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