1) Welcome Center

The Welcome Center is comprised of the former potting shed of the Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women. Its renovation was supported by the Women's National Farm & Garden Association, which began at PSHW in the early 1900s, and organization President Faith Tiberio.

2) All-American Selection Display Garden

This trial garden is a collection of superior annuals. The historic cold frames nearby were used during the early 1900s to teach students of the Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women, the forerunner of Temple University Ambler.

3) Viola Anders Herb Garden

This garden of culinary, dye, medicinal, and aromatic plants was installed by students in 1992 to demonstrate the use, cultivation and design of herb gardens. The central sculpture, created by Joseph Winter, represents a teacher passing plant knowledge to students. The garden design was led by Arboretum Founding Director Stephanie Cohen.

4) Formal Perennial Garden

The premier historic horticulture feature of the campus, our centerpiece garden was designed by Beatrix Farrand and James Bush-Brown. The long formal garden space is enclosed by an arborvitae hedge, which serves as a backdrop to English-style perennial borders. A restoration in 1998 led by Stephanie Cohen and Rudolph Keller features updated plant varieties, while retaining the English-style of this classic gem. The focal point at the end of the garden is a fountain flanked by Farrand’s twin pergolas and garden houses.

5) Woodland Gardens

Once an open meadow, this area was originally planted during the 1920s by the students and staff of the Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women. Beautiful all year long, this naturalistic garden shines in spring with blooming bulbs, shrubs and flowering trees and in the summer when mature beech, sycamore, tulip tree, dogwood, holly, and rhododendron shade and enclose the area.

6) Ground Cover Gardens

This garden displays sun and shade-loving woody and herbaceous plants used for ground cover.  Temple students designed and installed the garden in the 1993-1994 school year, choosing curvilinear forms to contrast the straight, angular patterns that dominate the other formal gardens.

7) Formal Native Plant Garden

This garden was redesigned 1995 to display native plants in a formal manner.  A central allée of black gum trees provides shade for native perennials. Permeable paths allow for rain water infiltration, providing added soil moisture retention and runoff reduction.

8) Philip R. and Barbara F. Albright Winter Garden

One of the newest additions to the Arboretum, the Albright Winter Garden was designed by landscape architect Mara Baird. Unique plants create seasonal interest from late fall to early spring with colorful branches, berries, exfoliating bark, and early flowering bulbs.

9) Louise Stine Fisher Garden

Raised beds showcase dwarf evergreens and Japanese maples in this quiet, intimate space, where students can study numerous mature dwarf plants in addition to an abundance of "hot" tropical plants, which serve as the garden's focal point. This area was dedicated to G. Louise Stine Fisher, former Dean of Women and professor of the Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women. Her specialty was ornamental woody plants.

10) Colibraro Conifer Garden

Sponsored by Michael Colibraro of Colibraro Landscape and Nursery, Inc., this garden includes many exquisite dwarf cultivars from his own collection. Students are able to compare and contrast different forms of the same species and enjoy beautiful texture and form year-round.

11) Research Trial Garden and Greenhouse

A deer exclosure and greenhouse contain plants such as vegetables, roses, trees and boxwoods, utilizing research and evaluation. Sustainable practices include composting and rain barrel water collection.

12) Ernesta Ballard Healing Garden

Dedicated in June 2009, the Ernesta Ballard Healing Garden is a contemplative area designed by Associate Professor Pauline Hurley-Kurtz and students in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture, which is based upon Temple University Ambler's 2006 Philadelphia Flower Show exhibit “Nature Nurtures.” This garden honors alumna Ernesta Ballard, a pioneering woman for both Temple University Ambler and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. It includes a central labyrinth and predominately native plants, which populate the rain garden surrounding the labyrinth. 

13) Class of 1990 Garden

This garden was designed and built by students of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture with faculty guidance. The design features porous paving, which facilitates rain water recharge. Construction techniques were designed to minimize disturbance of existing tree roots. The courtyard, made possible by a gift from the class of 1990, serves as an intimate student retreat for relaxation and study.

14) Sustainable Wetland Garden

This garden, installed in 1998 by third-year students in the Landscape Architecture design/build studio, demonstrates several principles of sustainable design, including recycled glass paving stones, use of solar energy and biological filtration of roof and campus storm water runoff. The wood pergola was a central feature of Temple's award-winning entry in the 1997 Philadelphia Flower Show. Maintainance of the garden is supported by the John Collins Fund.

15) PECO Green Roof Garden

(Not Pictured on Map) This garden, funded by PECO, An Exelon Company, is based on an award-winning project created for the 2002 Philadelphia Flower Show. The green roof, perched atop the Ambler Intercollegiate Athletic Fieldhouse, was installed to evaluate which plants can survive and thrive on similar roofs in the northeast region of the United States.