By the mid-twentieth century the term arboretum was relatively commonplace. It referred to a place where collections of trees were grown and displayed systematically, sometimes planted according to botanical taxonomies, labelled and catalogued. For some, such as Evelyn Waugh, arboretums had become hackneyed; the quotation above describes an arboretum in the garden of a ‘large, requisitioned villa in a still desolate area of Essex’, in 1943. Here the term is consciously pompous and affected, describing the remnant of a small tree collection in the garden of a modest house; but as we have seen, in the nineteenth century arboretums were perceived as innovative and exciting places.

This study has explored the development of arboretums in the period, arguing that there was a close relationship between botany and arboriculture and that the latter encouraged the adoption of the natural system in Britain. It has examined the emergence of tree collections intended to provide botanical education including botanical gardens, private estates and public sites where collections were displayed.