Northeast Regional Library Trees

On the grounds of the Northeast Regional Library, you will find a collection of regionally significant plants that were hybridized or found by local and regional plantsmen over the past century. Beginning in 2019, TreesLouisville has embarked on a project to install many of these plants at the newly-built Northeast Regional Library as a way to preserve and continue Louisville’s horticultural legacy.

Back in the early days of Louisville’s nursery industry, the environment was slower-paced and populated with people that were passionate about horticulture and produced their plants as a hobby as well as a vocation.

Most nursery owners kept propagation beds in their backyards. Propagating plants was an economic necessity because it is the cheapest way to create new plants. Unfortunately, there are many things that can go wrong during propagation -- the plants could dry out, a frost could threaten to destroy cuttings, or a hungry critter could eat everything in a nursery bed. Keeping beds close at hand went a long way to keep young plants protected with a watchful eye.

Before urban sprawl, Louisville was populated with a number of nurseries: Boone Gardiner, Lillard's, and Roxy. Just to the east, in Crestwood, Theodore Klein established a nursery that became world-renowned and is now the home of Yew Dell Botanical Gardens. Rudy Haag's Nursery was located on Six Mile Lane in Jeffersontown. 

Clarence E. 'Buddy' Hubbuch was the first Horticulture Director at Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest. He established the Bernheim Holly Collection, which features over 950 trees and shrubs that represent 445 individual species. His tenure at Bernheim lasted 33 years (1962-1995). 

Our region is also fortunate to have several individuals with an incredible passion for trees and plants. Allen Bush is a native Louisvillian that owned and operated a nursery in North Carolina before coming back home to Louisville. His 'Alley Cat' Redbud is planted on the grounds at NERL. 

Many people are familiar with Bob Hill, the retired Courier-Journal columnist who ran Hidden Hill Nursery for a number of years because of his and his wife Janet's love of plants. Bob has been a great advocate for greening in the Louisville community. 

Over the last couple of decades, another retired Courier-Journal employee, Mike Hayman, has made it a point to connect with people all over the country who are doing innovative and exciting work with plants. His 'Hayman's Red' Blackgum is another locally significant tree species that can be found on the grounds of the library.