Willowwood
An Arboretum of Distinction

The Willowwood arboretum is a place of natural beauty unlike any other. Nestled in the Hacklebarney Hills in Chester, the artboretum is not well known outside of Morris County. It is filled with lush woodland paths, meadows and formal gardens. My friends invited us to visit there one afternoon, and I've always thought it was one of the finest gifts they ever gave us. It's a serene, inviting place with acres of rolling hills and over 3,500 native and exotic plants, flowers and trees from around the world. In the center stands the original residence and a wooden and stone barn. It is surrounded by locations with names like: Hillside Pasture, Buttonwood Hollow and Elephant Walk. It's a pastoral image we have all dreamed of, a 19th century country estate frozen in time.
The land has changed owners throughout the years. It was originally farmland in the 1700's. By the 1950's, it was established as an arboretum by private owners. Rutgers University took it over for a while and now it is currently owned and maintained by the Morris County Parks Commission and open to the public. The arboretum and gardens were developed at the turn of the century by Robert and Henry Tubbs. They had an unusual hobby of collecting and growing distinctive plants, and Willowwood was the perfect location for them. During their lifetimes, they bought, borrowed and imported plantings from around the world to create the incredible landscape designs on the property.
We recently visited Willowwood in late April to experience the flowering Magnolias, Lilacs, Virburnum, Azalias, Eastern Redbuds, Daffodils, and thousands of Spring flowers. As you walk through the meadows and pathways, you will occasionally catch the fragrance of flowers wafting through the warm air- a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Wherever you go on the property, you'll find natural beauty to be enjoyed.
The Morris County Parks Commission provides a Trail Guide pamphlet at the parking lot, take one to plan your route around. The funny thing is, even though it seems like a large area, you won't become lost. If you keep on the trails, you will eventually come back to the former home of the Tubbs brothers. When you arrive and park, you'll start up the path towards the rustic buildings. The original farmhouse barns are still erect, each a monument from the last century. One of the barns was built of "Roxbury Pudding Stone", characteristic of the New Jersey highlands. It is flanked with lilac shrubs that fill the air with their romantic fragrance in the Spring. Each of the barns is covered with ivy year-round, making them seem timeless.
The residence dates from 1783 and is complimented by 2 well-tended gardens. From the rear of the house, standing in the shaded portico, you're at the foot of one of the formal gardens, planted in a forced perspective. If you look carefully, you'll see the ancient statue of Pan peering over the shrubs at the end of the garden. It's obvious even to a novice that the Tubbs took great pains to establish a world class arboretum on this property planting and nurturing thousands of unique plantings. They dreamed of creating a living, natural museum, and they succeeded.
The arboretum is named for over the 110 species of Willows located on the property. In places, you'll find a distinctive Oriental influence, including statuary. There are bamboo and exotic grasses placed around the footbridges over the rippling creek providing a lush respite when you need to stop and take a break.
There are various trails surrounding the property. Each one is lined with healthy, mature trees including many flowering specimens with spreading canopies shading the pathways. As you travel, you'll see each species is tagged for identification with its common & Latin name, and as you stroll the woods and meadows, you'll discover hundreds of species of flowers, shrubs, and plants.
For more information and directions to get to Willowwood, call the Morris County Park Commission at (973) 326-7600. Willowwood Arboretum is located at 300 Longview Road (Off Route 206) in Chester Township, NJ.

Copyright © 1998 Lynda Hester D'Orio