Documen)nglivingcollec)ons:
Astudyofcurrentplantrecordsprac)ces,challenges,andsolu)onsforhistoricgardens
EmilyDetrick,MPSHor)culture2016,CornellUniversity
Background&Objec)ves
Alivingplantcollec)onisthephysicalmanifesta)onabotanicgarden’s
mission,andcomprisesthecri)calmaterialthatins)llstheseins)tu)ons
withrelevanceandpurposeinoursociety.Valueliesnotonlyintheplants
themselvesbutalsointheinforma)onthataccompaniesthem(Guthe,
1970).Myworkfocusesontheplantrecordsprac)cesinhistoric
landscapesoftheUnitedStatesthathavetransi<onedfromprivate
estatestopublicgardens(termedpreserva'ongardensbyTheGarden
Conservancy).
Thesecollec)onsomenincluderareplants,heritagecul)vars,andunusual
taxathatmaynotberepresentedelsewhereincul)va)onorinthewild,
offeringuntappedpoten)alforconserva)onandresearch.Preserva)on
gardensfaceauniquesetofchallenges,andresourcesdetailingappropriate
bestprac)cesfordocumen)nghistoriccollec)onsarenotreadilyavailable.
Primaryobjec<ve:Inves)gateanddescribecurrentplantrecords
prac)ces,challenges,andsolu)onsatpreserva)ongardens.
Secondaryobjec<ve:Basedonfindings,develop
recommenda)onsforplantrecordsprac)ces,withtheinten)ontoboth
improveinternalorganiza)onandincreasepoten)alforhistoricgardensto
contributetolarger-scaleeffortsbysharingdatawithresearchers,other
ins)tu)ons,andthepublic.
Methods
Results&Discussion
Throughamixedqualita)veandquan)ta)vedesign,thisexploratoryprojectfollowedthe
induc)veprocessofGroundedTheoryMethodologytoobserve,collectdata,thencodeand
sortthemesdescribingcurrentplantrecordsprac)ces,challenges,andsolu)ons.
Filmedinterviewswereconductedon-sitewithstaffof10preserva)ongardenslocated
acrosstheUnitedStatesinthesummerandfallof2015.Fivecuratorialexpertswerealso
interviewedconcerningoverarchingthemesofplantrecordsprac)cesandchallenges.Results
ofinterviewsinformedthedesignofana<onal,web-basedsurveyofapurposivesampleof
preserva)ongardens(n=61).Datawasanalyzedbycrosstabula)ngquan)ta)veand
qualita)veresponsestorevealsubstan<vesignificance,convergence,anddivergenceof
themesinordertodevelopgroundedtheoryaboutprac<ce.
Criteriaforselec<onofgardens
•  Originallyprivateestatesthathavetransi)onedtopublicgardens
•  Maintainwebsitesexpressingmissionandinforma)onaboutplantcollec)ons
•  Affilia)onswithoneormoreofthefollowingorganiza)ons:AmericanPublicGardens
Associa)on,BotanicGardenConserva)onInterna)onal,TheGardenConservancy,The
TrusteesofReserva)ons,orTheNa)onalTrustforHistoricPreserva)on
Addi)onally,asagroup,theinterviewedgardenswereselectedtorepresent:
•  Diversegeo-poli)calregionsacrosstheUnitedStates(varietyofstates,neararange
popula)ondensi)es(urbantorural),ecosystemtypes,andclimatezones)
•  Arangeofannualopera)ngbudgets,landscapesizes,andyearsopentothepublic
•  Diversecollec)onfoci(naturalareas,rareplants,regionalna)ves,etc.)
3c.CurrentPrac<ces:DatabaseandMapping
Target8oftheGlobalStrategyforPlant
Conserva<onistosecure“atleast75%ofall
threatenedplantspeciesinexsitucollec8ons,
preferablyinthecountryoforigin,andatleast
20%availableforrecoveryandrestora8on
programs”by2020.
In2013,220ins<tu<onswithlivingplant
collec<onsworldwidecontributedinforma)on
abouttheircollec)ons(BGCI,2013).Thereare
nearly800botanicgardensintheUnitedStates
thatcouldpoten)allycontributetothiseffort,
buttheirabilitytodosoiscon)ngentontheir
documenta)onprac)ces.
Thesurveywasdesignedtocollectdatain3keyareas:thegeneralprofileof
preserva<ongardens,thetransi<onperiodfromprivatetopublicrela<veto
plantrecordsprac<ces,andcurrentplantrecordsprac<cesandchallenges.
Surveyresponsewas62%(n=60).
1.ProfileofPreserva<onGardens
Fig.1Loca)onsofpreserva)ongardensiden)fiedforinterviews
andsurvey(plusJuneau,Alaska).
5%
3%
17%
14%
Plantsthatareclassified
bystate,regional,or
na)onalstandardsas
rare,endangered,or
threatened(40%)
Geographically,preserva)ongardensareprimarilylocatedontheeastandwestcoasts(fig.1),
echoingthelargerpopula)onofAPGAmembers.Plantsintheircollec)onshavesignificant
preserva)onandconserva)onvalueinaddi)ontodisplayvalue(fig.2).Themajorityofthe
gardenssurveyedoperateonlessthan$1millionannually(fig.3),againechoingthelarger
popula)on:75%oftheins)tu)onalmembersoftheAmericanPublicGardenAssocia)onhave
annualbudgetsoflessthan$1million(APGA,2016).Preserva)ongardenshavetypicallysmall
Fig. Characteristics of Surveyed Gardens: Budget, Acreage, Years Open to the
landholdings,with50%cul)va)ng6acresorless,butsomegardenmorethan200acres(fig.4).
Public (n=58)
Plantsthatthegarden
considerstobeof
uniquehistoric
significance(90%)
9%
50%
Plantsthathaveanother
typeofconserva)on
value(31%)
Fig.2Livingcollec)onsholdings:preserva)on&conserva)onvalues
3d.CurrentPrac<ces:
Challenges
Fig.3Annualopera)ngbudgetof
surveyedgardens.
2.Transi<on
Period
Gardensthattransi)on
fromprivateestatesto
publicgardensundergo
uniquesequencesof
eventsthatinfluence
theirorganiza)on’s
abilitytomaintainplant
records,artude
towardtheprac)ce,
andprotocolsfordoing
so.Surveyedgardens
describedwhatworked
wellfortheirgardens
duringthe)meof
transi)oninregardsto
plantrecordsprac)ces
(fig.5).
Largest
Smallest
Mean
Median
Budget
Over $2 million
(18%)
Less than $1
million (74%)
Less than $1
million
Less than $1
million
Acreage of
cultivated gardens
200+ acres
1 acre
30 acres
6 acres
Years Open
150+ years
2 years
40 years
40 years
Fig.4Characteris)csofsurveyedgardens:budget,acreage,yearsopentothepublic.
CauseforsuccessDescrip<on
1. Preservation of
historic records
57%
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
2. Records systems
(methods, protocols,
database) developed
by skilled and
knowledgeable
personnel
●
37%
●
●
3. Planning
documents developed
●
●
●
●
●
17%
●
●
●
4. Inventories taken at
time of transition
10%
●
●
●
Paper documents scanned and data manually input into database; original
paper documents saved and archived
Presence of historic photos
Original directors of horticulture established methodical records practices and
passed on knowledge of early record attempts in the garden
Grant obtained to support digitization of handwritten records and oral histories
Founders involved in development of database
Founders happened to be detail oriented: kept lists and records well organized,
preserved, and passed on with estate
Relatives, friends, and staff of former owners available to answer questions
Historical societies curate archives of family correspondences and history and
makes available as needed
Ownership of/access to records was transferred during transition
Original directors of horticulture, landscape designers, and/or founders trained in
curatorial practices, established methods
Curator and founder developed database jointly
Adoption of selected packaged database software well-received by staff, usable
Skilled staff developed system to verify plant ID when no labels present, map,
and assess
Staff or volunteers exercise innovation, adaptability, time, and patience
Successful transition from older, simpler database to newer, more sophisticated
package; migration supported by software company
Design Management Guide described plantings in terms of character and
community
Map of Garden Maintenance Zones developed by graduate student created the
structure for digitally recording inventories
Historic Landscape Report undertaken
Coincided new record keeping system with a garden redesign
New plantings strictly adhere to original planting plans
Staff performed cursory tree ID, assessment, and mapping
Professional contracted to perform inventory
No plants labeled; staff or volunteers developed system to identify many
cultivated varieties of historic perennials
Fig.5Whatworkedwellforpreserva)ongardensduringtransi)onperiodandpercentof
popula)onci)ngeachtheme.
3b.CurrentPrac<ces:Staff&Board
Staffatpreserva)ongardensperceiveplantrecordsasa
higherprioritythandoboardmembers(fig.10).Several
interviewedgardenscitedchallengesineduca)ngnon-plant
recordsstaffandboardaboutthevalueofdocumenta)on.
Most(57%)ofpreserva)ongardensdonothavecuratorial
posi)ons;ofthosethatdo,halfofthoseareinternships(fig.
11).Overall,mostplantrecordstasksareperformedbynonpermanentposi)ons,underliningthepercep)onoflow
prioritylevel(fig.12).
3a.CurrentPrac<ces:Policies,Accessioning,&tracking
Justoveronethirdofsurveyedgardenscurrentlyhaveacollec)onspolicy.Ofthose,the
majorityalsohaveadocumentdetailingwriQenguidelinesforthemaintenanceofplant
records(fig.6).Developingdetailedprotocolsforplantrecordsprac)ces(independentof
acollec)onspolicy)wasfrequentlycitedbystudypar)cipantsasacri)calfactorinthe
efficiencyandaccuracyofplantrecords.Themajorityofgardenscreateaccession
recordsfor“some”plantsintheircollec)ons,andiden)fiedspecificcriteriaguidingthe
selec)on(fig.8&9).
Fig.10Staffandboardartudestowardprioritylevelofplantrecords.
AccessionDecisions
KeyUsesofaDocumenta8onSystem.AdaptedfromRoberts(1988)asquotedbyHohn(2008)
References
BGCI.Partnershipsandcollabora)onsfor
conserva)on.RetrievedSeptember28,2014,from
hQp://www.bgci.org/resources/ar)cle/0690/
Galbraith,D.&WyseJackson,P.ExSitu
Conserva)onontheInterna)onalStage.The
PublicGarden:JournaloftheAmericanPublic
GardensAssocia8on.2004(3):12-13,35-36.
Guthe,C.E.1.(1970).Documen8ngcollec8ons:
museumregistra8on&records([Rev.ed.].)
Nashville:AmericanAssocia)onforStateand
LocalHistory.
Hohn,T.C.(2008).CuratorialPrac8cesfor
BotanicalGardens.Plymouth,UK:AltamiraPress.
Acknowledgments
Supportprovidedby:
DouglasDockeryThomasFellowshipinGardenHistoryandDesign
(GardenClubofAmerica&LandscapeArchitectureFounda)on)
AtkinsonCenterforaSustainableFuture
AcademicTechnologyCenter
Advisingprovidedby:
TheGardenConservancy
AmericanPublicGardenAssocia)on
Na)onalTrustforHistoricPreserva)on
Manythankstoallgardensthat
par8cipatedinthisstudy
Fig.12Posi)onsresponsibleformostplantrecordstasksatpreserva)ongardens.
Fig.11Distribu)onof)tlesatthe43%of
preserva)ongardenswithcuratorialposi)ons.
Fig.6(top)Existenceofcollec)onspolicyand/orwriQenguidelinesdetailingplantrecords
protocols.Fig.7Prac)cesforaccessioningandtrackinginforma)ononplantsincollec)ons.
Fig.8Criteriausedtodetermineforwhichplantsincollec)onsaccessionrecordswillbecreated
Fig.9Percentofgardensthat
accessionsome,all,orno
plantsintheircollec)ons