The Role of Labeling in Public Gardens

Abstract

In botanical gardens, arboreta, and other public gardens labels are used to accession plants, to identify them for the public, and to interpret them for the visitor. Permanent record labels are a necessity for the botanical garden that is accumulating scientific data from its collection of plants. An attractive labeling system can identify plants without destroying the beauty of the garden, and a master interpretive plan for the garden that includes labels may increase the appreciation of the average visitor for the garden and its plants. In Part One of the thesis the author considers the aesthetic and educational limitations of the identification label. He places labeling in the context of interpretation, and he suggests how labeling can be integrated into a master interpretive plan. The writer presents alternatives and adjuncts to labeling as an interpretive tool. In Part Two the author examines the materials of an methods for production of legible, durable and attractive labels and their holders.

Advisor: Richard W. Lighty