On Nov. 1, 2024, Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) Horticulturist Kelly Wilson led a group of about 20 gardening enthusiasts through the cemetery, with red, orange and yellow leaves crunching underfoot, to explain the cemetery’s trees, plants and flowers on the season’s last Fall Horticulture Walking Tour.
Wilson encouraged people to touch and sniff different flowers and plants, including the roses near the Welcome Center.
The approximately 9,800 diverse trees that populate the cemetery’s landscape, as well as the educational tour Wilson led, contribute to its status as a Level III Arboretum — first designated in 2018 and renewed in 2023. Only 45 renowned institutions worldwide maintain this prestigious accreditation.
Wilson recounted a story about a large tree in Section 45 that designers incorporated into President John F. Kennedy’s gravesite when they redesigned it in 1964. Unfortunately, the tree fell during Hurricane Irene in 2011, but members of American Forestry had collected the tree’s acorns over the years, and new trees grown from those acorns now surround the gravesite.
Wilson spoke about plant growth and prompted attendees by asking: “They’re going to sleep the first year, creep the second, and they do what the third?” The crowd collectively responded, “Leap!” Wilson smiled at the response before realizing the question was too easy.
Attendees enjoyed the information and the scenery. “There are so many species and trees we don’t have at my home,” said Bruce McCallum, who was visiting from Bozeman, Montana. Washington, D.C., resident Catherine Nottingham, from the Perennial Garden Club, considered her group the perfect audience for the tour. “We are delighted to hear the name of every plant that we pass,” she said. “We’re so lucky to come today because there are so many colors: red, crimson, wine and yellow.”
Master Gardener Susan Hepler from Alexandria, Virginia, said, “The tour is a wonderful service for us to see more deeply what’s going on at the cemetery.” Master Naturalist Terri McPalmer from Arlington, Virginia, who used apps on her phone during the tour to quickly research her photographs, concurred, stating, “This tour has been educational in more than one way.”
Every year, ANC hosts multiple horticultural tours to celebrate spring and fall, interpret our landscape and educate the public about how we care for these hallowed grounds. Public outreach is integral to ANC’s maintenance of its accreditation as a Level III Arboretum. Information about upcoming tours may be found on this website and on social media @arlingtonnatl.
To learn more about Memorial Arboretum and horticulture at ANC, explore our Education Program materials:
► Memorial Arboretum
► The Environment at ANC