Burpee Trial Garden
By Gretchen Lytle
Introduction
Walking the Bard Arboretum provides rich experiences all year long. People investigate the historic and broad range of trees planted on the campus and the former estates, hike on trails through old-growth forests, check out the vegetables at the Bard Farm, and look for pollinators in fields and cultivated gardens around the campus. August is a special time of year, particularly for visiting the Burpee Trial Garden at Montgomery Place. This recent campus addition lies just south of the drive as you walk towards the mansion, near the greenhouse, herb garden, and flowerbeds. Formerly the vegetable and flower gardens that fed and beautified the estate, the area had lain fallow and become green lawn over the years. 2025 was its first year in its new incarnation as one of the Burpee test gardens.
Flowers, Vegetables, and Berries Galore
W. Atlee Burpee produced colorful mail-order catalogs from the late 19th to mid-20th centuries and supplied farms and home gardens around the country with seeds every year. In 2024 Bard received a $1 million grant to support Burpee’s testing of new seeds. This is Bard’s second year with a trial garden, and Burpee sent mostly new seeds. About half are flowers and herbs, and the other half are vegetables—plus there are strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries. The Bard student team will also follow closely two new unreleased vegetables, a red patio sweet pepper and a blight-resistant plum tomato. The team has also planted seeds from the commemorative herb and flower collection that celebrates America’s gardening heritage. Whatever the flowers and herbs, they draw pollinators, and a trip to the garden beds is a visual treat as butterflies wing in.
Bard Student Team
The Bard student team is involved in all aspects of the research as they follow the Burpee seeds from germination to their harvest. They design and evaluate the cultivation of new—and experimental—varieties of flowers, herbs, vegetables, and fruits. By applying the scientific method, they manage pests and diseases, identify plants and insects, investigate genetics, and learn more about the effects of climate on plant vigor. Collected data allows them to compare each year with prior years and learn more about the impact of the Hudson Valley’s growing conditions. Visit the garden beds and note the various attempts to keep pests away and what appears to be successful—or not. If you’re lucky, there will be students there when you visit, and you can ask them questions. You can also gather information from the posted identification cards.
Visit Often
For the data lovers in our midst, take a look at the final report on the 2025 garden. It tells the story of the whole year and is accompanied by clear graphs, thoughtful hypotheses, and illustrative photographs. Then return to the garden and see what’s happening with this year’s plantings. There is an open house scheduled in August, and it’s a perfect time to enjoy the garden and learn more. Bard’s Burpee Trial Garden is a beautiful, informative resource and ever-changing. Come on by.
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