Known locally as The Tree Zoo, this nine-acre park was established on Arbor Day in 1995. The arboretum is located in Constitution Park, dedicated eight years earlier to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. Following years of planning and tree-collecting, Deerfield Beach City Arborist Harold “Zeke” Landis designed the arboretum and incorporated existing indigenous, long-standing vegetation including mahoganies, live oaks, and Poinciana. Displaying plants in taxonomic and aesthetic groupings, the arboretum was designed by volunteers from the Florida Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects.
With naturalistic plant massings of more than 1500 fruit and flowering trees from five continents, the picturesque qualities of the arboretum are experienced via a half-mile long meandering pedestrian route. In addition to the taxonomic plantings, the arboretum consists of several thematic gardens including the Florida Native Wetland Garden, the Caribbean Garden, the Palm Garden, and the Butterfly Garden. Two picnic shelters near the Wetland Garden and an Azumaya-inspired pavilion in the Japanese Garden provide for shaded gathering. Conceived as a place for contemplation and education, the collection is cared for by volunteer master gardeners and garden enthusiasts.
