Historic Linden Grove Cemetery & Arboretum in Covington has been awarded a Level I Accreditation by The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program and The Morton Arboretum, for achieving particular standards of professional practices deemed important for arboreta and botanic gardens.
The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program is the only global initiative to officially recognize arboreta at various levels of development, capacity, and professionalism.
Historic Linden Grove Cemetery & Arboretum is also now recognized as an accredited arboretum in the Morton Register of Arboreta, a database of the world’s arboreta and gardens dedicated to woody plants.
“Over the past 10 years, we have worked diligently to establish a tree maintenance program to address the culture of existing trees while making new additions to our collections. We are very delighted to have received this accreditation,” said Rick Ludlum, chairman of the Board of Overseers of Linden Grove Cemetery & Arboretum. “Visitors will find the unique natural beauty and educational experience enriching and memorable.”
Linden Grove is a still-active cemetery situated on 22.3 acres in the heart of the City of Covington’s urban core. It was officially consecrated as a cemetery on September 11, 1843 on land originally owned by the Western Baptist Theological Institute.
Linden Grove was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
Today, Linden Grove hosts thousands of visitors each year for recreation, community events and memorialization. Offering a special view of downtown Cincinnati, Linden Grove is a quiet, peaceful place centered the urban core of Kentucky’s fifth largest city.
Linden Grove’s most notable tree is a 275 year old White Oak (Quercus alba) which has overseen all of Linden Grove’s 22,000 burials. Many existing large trees and newer additions make up a collection of 350, of which 120 are different species, varieties and cultivars of trees and large shrubs. Nineteen ash trees are currently being treated against the Emerald Ash Borer.
Linden Grove offers a number of events and educational opportunities throughout the year. Information can be found at HistoricLindenGrove.org.
The historic and the new — a special view (Photos by Elyce Feliz for Linden Grove)
Serving the community since 1843, Historic Linden Grove Cemetery & Arboretum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. The grounds cover more than 22 acres with more than 22,000 interments. Linden Grove, located in the urban core of Covington, is a beautiful, verdant attraction which plays host to community events, recreation and memorialization.
The cemetery recently announced the opening of a new entrance located on its north end at 13th Street in Covington’s Westside neighborhood. The cemetery also plans to unveil a new parking lot and a community “rain garden” in the spring.
ArbNet is an interactive, collaborative, international community of arboreta. ArbNet facilitates the sharing of knowledge, experience, and other resources to help arboreta meet their institutional goals and works to raise professional standards through the ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program. The accreditation program, sponsored and coordinated by The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois in cooperation with American Public Gardens Association and Botanic Gardens Conservation International, is the only global initiative to officially recognize arboreta based on a set of professional standards. More information is available at www.arbnet.org.
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You may be interested in this NKyTribune story about Linden Grove.
