Somerset County Park Commission Colonial Park Gardens has been awarded a Level 1 Accreditation by The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program and The Morton Arboretum.
The recognition honors Colonial Park Gardens for having achieved particular standards of professional practices deemed important for arboreta and botanic gardens. The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program is the only global initiative to officially recognize arboreta at various levels of development, capacity, and professionalism.
Colonial Park Gardens is now recognized as an accredited arboretum in the Morton Register of Arboreta, a database of the world's arboreta and gardens dedicated to woody plants.
The 5 ½ acre Arboretum is located in the western section of Colonial Park in Colonial Park Gardens. It is comprised of over 900 specimens of trees and shrubs. The Arboretum is of interest to students of botany and horticulture as well as plant enthusiasts and park patrons and makes a beautiful backdrop for weddings and dedication ceremonies. Here visitors will find many species and varieties that are native to the United States as well as Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and the Middle East. The current collection has a very well rounded representation of trees from many different taxonomic groups.
