“This is Oxydendrum arborensis,” Robin Pydynkowski, PEM’s Manager of Horticulture and Grounds, says with a grin, showing off a tree that most non-gardeners might call a sourwood. “We like the names.” 

This particular tree is situated among three historic houses on PEM’s main campus. “They're very slow-growing. And they have a massive root system,” Pydynkowski says. “If you go to move it, be prepared, because it's twice the size of a normal root ball. But it's a great specimen tree. I think they're fairly long-lived.” In the fall, this tree will go scarlet. “You get a burgundy wine-colored leaf with the calyx of the seed pods remaining persistent on the tree. It's just beautiful.” 

The sourwood is native to the southeastern United States, most common in the lower part of the Appalachian Mountains. But here, on this tree trek of PEM’s campus, a newly designated Level 2 arboretum where you can find hundreds of trees, we’re dubbing this the best tree under which to enjoy a book.

We traded our office computers for fresh air to meet up with the crew in their potting shed headquarters, adjacent to the 1916 greenhouse on the grounds of the Ropes Mansion. We talked about rain, the desire for it, what kind of summer it has been and what kind of winter we can expect. The horticulturalists paused at one point to give a dog treat to a gentle big blonde neighbor they all knew by name as Moby.

Salem tourists often chat with our gardeners, sharing their own methods for their climates at home. “It's always a fun aspect: Literally every single year, we learn something new in this green space,” says Sponholtz. “People are always curious. They'll ask questions about the flowers and we totally welcome it. It's fun to talk about. We spend so much time planning it. Today we got asked if we have a Mayflower, which is a very touristy question. But I thought that was kind of cute.”

We also discussed how the excitement of receiving the arboretum certification a year ago still hasn’t worn off. “There has been an uptick in the awareness that PEM is the steward of a great amount of green space in an urban setting and that we take the care of it very seriously,” says Pydynkowski.

Patrick Cheney, a horticulturalist and certified arborist, has worked on the trees on PEM’s campus since the 1980s. “I actually walked in one day and they said, ‘guess what we're doing?’ The idea being, this is a living collection,” he says. “We're going to be part of the museum. And we want to make sure that people get the fact that these are part of it as well. John Robinson put this stuff here for a reason.”

John Robinson was the botanist who plotted out and planted the Ropes Mansion Garden, on Essex Street in the McIntire District, in 1912. Many of the plants came from Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain. The arboretum designation means more resources to take better care of the trees. Cheney is thrilled to be part of that, to steward these century-old living treasures along. 

The Three Sisters, originating in several different Native American communities, involves a mutually-supporting arrangement of corn, beans and squash. PEM also boasts several ​​heritage grape varieties, introduced to the museum in 2022 by J. Stephen Casscles, author of Grapes of the Hudson Valley. Veggies are given to staff members. And neighbors are welcome to take apples as long as they are at ground level.

When the crowds get to be too much this fall, the gardening team suggests grabbing a corner of a bench at Ropes Mansion or going across the street from the Hawthorne Hotel and enjoying the shade of the lawn at the Andrew-Safford House.

“Or you can go inside the museum, get a break from the hustle and bustle of outside, and then go to the expansion garden and get nature back there,” says Pydynkowski, referring to PEM's serene 5,000-square-foot garden that offers a mental and acoustic break from the museum experience. Designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, this award-winning three-room garden space reflects the meeting of East and West during the era of maritime trade. The garden features both North American and Asian plants, along with an 11-foot cascading water feature.

Gardening is hard work, but our crew doesn't mind. And with the new resources at hand, they love planning each year’s colorful blooms.

“It's ever hopeful,” says Pydynkowski. "Come winter, come January, when that snow's flying and you're tucked in that greenhouse, everything's hopeful.”

Want to lend a helping hand to PEM’s green spaces? Consider becoming a garden volunteer.