Harcourt Arboretum is an

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

owned and run by the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. It is a satellite of the university's botanic garden in the city of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The arboretum itself is located south of Oxford on the A4074 road, near the village of

Nuneham Courtenay Nuneham Courtenay is a village and civil parish about southeast of Oxford. It occupies a pronounced section of the left bank of the River Thames. Geography The parish is bounded to the west by the River Thames and on other sides by field boun ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primaril ...

, and comprises some . Professor Simon Hiscock is the ''Horti Praefectus'' (Director) of the botanic garden and arboretum."Simon Hiscock"
obga.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved on 2 September 2018. The arboretum forms an integral part of the tree and plant collection of the University of Oxford Botanic Garden. It occupies part of what were the grounds of Nuneham House, about from the house itself. It was designed to form an impressive entrance to the landscaped grounds of the house.

William Sawrey Gilpin William Sawrey Gilpin (4 October 1762 – 4 April 1843) was an English artist and drawing master, and in later life a landscape designer. Biography Gilpin was born at Scaleby Castle, Cumbria on 4 October 1762, the son of the animal painter Sa ...

(1762–1843), the artist and later landscape designer, laid out the pinetum, which forms the core of the arboretum. The trees are now mature, with giant

redwoods Sequoioideae, popularly known as redwoods, is a subfamily of coniferous trees within the family Cupressaceae. It includes the largest and tallest trees in the world. Description The three redwood subfamily genera are '' Sequoia'' from coasta ...

and monkey-puzzle trees. CountryPath HSVLeveks

The grounds include a typical English woodland and a summer flowering meadow. In late spring, the

azalea Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus '' Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections '' Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Oct ...

s and

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

s are especially impressive. There are carpets of bluebells in the woods too. In the autumn, the leaf colours are brilliant, including

Japanese maple ''Acer palmatum'', commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Japanese: ''irohamomiji'', , or ''momiji'', (栴), is a species of woody plant native to Japan, Korea, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Rus ...

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are r ...

s roam the grounds, as they have since the establishment of the arboretum. In recent years, paths have been improved for accessibility. The grounds are open to the public at a charge.

References

External links

Harcourt Arboretum
information from the University of Oxford
Harcourt Arboretum
information from the University of Oxford Museum Education {{Authority control Arboreta in England Botanical gardens in England Gardens in Oxfordshire Departments of the University of Oxford University of Oxford sites Parks and open spaces in Oxfordshire