Although most people think of sea and sand when they think of Martha's Vineyard, the island is also home to the Polly Hill Arboretum. Polly Hill, a well-known horticulturist among other things, created and worked on the arboretum as a project from the 1960s until her recent death. It's located on her old sheep-farm located in West Tisbury, and it features azaleas, tree peonies, dogwoods, hollies, lilacs, magnolias, and more. There are serene walking trails for strolling and admiring the expansive collection of flora on display.
Welcome to The Polly Hill Arboretum, a Martha's Vineyard horticultural and botanical landmark, developed over the past forty years by the legendary horticulturist, Polly Hill. It is here that Polly brought twenty acres under cultivation while preserving forty additional acres as native woodland. Crisscrossed by old stone walls surrounding open, wildflower-filled meadows and characterized by vernacular Vineyard architecture, the Arboretum is preserved as a not-for-profit institution established in 1996 and is devoted to the cultivation and study of plants.
Its primary goals are to determine those plants that can be successfully cultivated on Martha's Vineyard, to develop and introduce outstanding plants of ornamental merit into American horticulture, and to serve as a sanctuary for plants that are threatened by extinction in their native habitats. A further but equally significant endeavor is to preserve the character and magic of this tranquil and enchanting Vineyard landscape.