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Arboretum
Landscaped Grounds
Courtyard Gardens
Patio Gardens
Back Porch Garden
Special Collections
The Nature Preserve
Visitors
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Arboretum
The Medford campus features landscaped grounds, courtyard and patio gardens, wildflower meadows, recreational areas, and natural woodlands that constitute the Lewis W. Barton Arboretum. In addition to the 168-acre Medford campus, the 88-acre Lumberton campus is an extension of the arboretum. The beauty of our settings is just one of the reasons many residents choose to live here.
The Arboretum is maintained by the Horticulture Department of Medford Leas in consultation with the staff of the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania, and is a member of the Greater Philadelphia Gardens, a consortium of outstanding public gardens in the Delaware Valley.
Medford Leas' Global Positioning System
By Kitty Katzell, Member, Lewis W. Barton Arboretum Committee
In today’s world, surveying means using the latest in Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. Licensed surveyors have access to satellites that enable them to position a site to within inches of its exact location. Medford Leas, a Continuing Care Retirement Community, with campuses in Medford and Lumberton, NJ, is the home of the Lewis W. Barton Arboretum. In 2005, in preparation for new construction on the Medford campus, the 168-acre Lewis W. Barton Arboretum had to be surveyed. The surveyors were instructed to include in their survey the names and locations of the trees on the property.
When the surveyors’ information became available, Medford Leas’ Landscaping staff was sent out to validate the information they had supplied. The locations were found to be accurate, but many of the tree names needed to be corrected. Once the list of 1,390 trees was in order, 6” x 9” tree labels were obtained from Nameplate Technologies in California. Each label includes the common name, the scientific name, and the accession number for the tree into whose mulch bed it was later implanted.
The existing 1,390 trees now have their legible, meaningful labels in place. When a new tree is to be planted, the person from the landscaping department doing the planting carries with him a Pocket PC with GPS technology accurate to within about ten feet. By laying the Pocket PC on the ground at the spot where the tree is to be planted, he can read on the Pocket PC screen the coordinates for that location. He then stores the coordinates in the Pocket PC’s memory. After planting the tree, he takes the tree’s picture and stores it, and he enters any notes he might want to record, such as the name of a nearby structure, the condition of the tree, the date of planting, etc. That sort of information for 100 or more trees can be stored in the Pocket PC, and a memory card similar to that found in a digital camera can be inserted for virtually unlimited additional storage.
Later, the data stored in the Pocket PC are transferred to the computer database. Currently, the data can be accessed from three computers on the Medford campus of Medford Leas. Eventually, a web site is planned so that the entire database can be accessed from any location. The system allows a visitor to find the answers to many of the questions that are likely to arise in an Arboretum.
Visitors are welcome to visit the Lewis W. Barton Arboretum, open seven days per week from 9:00 AM to dusk, at no charge.
Guests are asked to register at the Reception Desk in the Community Building on the Medford Campus, located on Route 70 in Medford, NJ, less than one mile east of the junction of Routes 70 and 541.
Links
Greater Philadelphia Gardens
Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania
Master Gardeners of Burlington County
Rutgers Univ. Cooperative Extension
Mount Holly Garden Club
Pinelands Garden Club
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Landscaped Grounds, medford campus
Surrounding the residential and community buildings are extensive grounds: landscaped areas, recreational facilities and lawns. Recreational areas include a putting green, chip and putt course, croquet, shuffleboard, tennis courts and an area called “the farm” consisting of small plots on which some residents raise vegetables and fruits.
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CourtYard Gardens, medford campus
In the central residential area ground-level, garden-style apartments are clustered around central courtyard gardens planted with shrubs and small trees, herbaceous perennials and annuals, both familiar and exotic, selected in part for disease resistance and drought tolerance. Represented are 29 little known and under-used woody plants of exceptional merit promoted by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in their “Gold Medal” award program. There are 33 courtyard gardens, each unique, designed by outstanding landscape architects or horticulturists from the staff of the Morris Arboretum. All courtyards are connected to the Community Building by glass enclosed covered walkways, and thus are accessible in inclement weather and by wheel chair.
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private Gardens
Every apartment, patio home, or townhome on both campuses features patios and/or porches around which residents are encouraged to develop private gardens. Two greenhouses are available to residents for propagating seedlings and winter storage of plants. Adjacent to one of these is the Nature Center, which contains a Nature Resource Library and meeting room for use by all residents.
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back porch garden
Download the attached PDF to read a great article about the distinctive Back Porch Garden at Medford Leas.
PDF 
Back Porch Garden
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Special Collections
- The Pinetum — a collection of conifers, many from regions of Europe and Asia.
- Rhododendron collection
- Additional collections include holly, virburnum, and crabapple.
Link
Wildflower Guide / Medford Leas Residents' Association
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The Nature Preserve
The Nature Preserve offers a contrast between its hardwood deciduous vegetation and the pine forests and cedar swamps of the Pinelands National Reserve, just a few miles to the east. Approximately 55 of the 168 acres of Medford Leas property remain in natural vegetation. The major part is a flood plain forest along the Southwest Branch of the Rancocas Creek. The predominant trees here are red maple, ironwood, sycamore and tulip tree. Another section is a mature upland forest in which oak, beech and hickory are dominant, but with small successional groves of Virginia pine and sweet gum. Mature forests are becoming more scarce each year as a consequence of relatively uncontrolled residential and commercial development. Medford Leas accepts its responsibility to preserve this fragment through environmentally sound management and to make the Nature Preserve available for study and enjoyment by residents as well as the general public.
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Visitors
Individuals and small groups are welcome to visit the arboretum at no charge. Please check in at the reception desk in the Community Building, where maps and brochures for self-guided walks through the courtyards and along various trails in the pinetum, the meadow and the woodlands are available. Call 609.654.3000 or 800-331-4302 to make advance arrangements for guided tours.
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