A wonderful groundbreaking ceremony for the new Visitors’ Orientation and Education Center was held on June 3, 2008 and was a resounding success! The new 10,000 square foot state of the art “green” building is a public-private partnership among the Cylburn Arboretum Association, the Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland, the Horticultural Society of Maryland and Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks.

Cylburn features a variety of gardens. The All America Selections garden, the Vegetable garden, and the Heritage Rose Garden are located behind the Mansion. Several Memorial gardens, the Butterfly garden, and the Formal garden, complement the areas around the Mansion. The Garden of the Senses is waist height allowing physically challenged visitors to touch and smell the plants easily. The Children's Garden includes a schoolhouse and bell.

The Arboretum has an extensive and constantly expanding collection of trees and shrubs based loosely on the original Tyson estate plantings. These include groves of magnolias, hollies, conifers and japanese maples as well as individual specimens of other species. Some of the trees planted by the original owners still stand on the lawns.

Two and a half miles of trails wind through the woodlands, where native plants and wildflowers may be studied. As an environmental conservation area, Cylburn's woodland trees, shrubs and native herbacious plants are protected in their natural habitat. Cylburn's woods have been home for generations and generations of wildlife and for native and migrating birds. Birds and wildlife may be observed in this natural habitat. Cylburn offers beauty and serenity to her human visitors in an ever changing seasonal setting.

Cylburn's greenhouses are not open to the general public, but visitors to Cylburn Market Day, held annually each May and other chosen sales, have the opportunity to buy overstock from the greenhouses on that day and to have a glimpse inside the buildings themselves. Tours for schools or garden clubs can be arranged through s the City of Baltimore Department of Recreation and Parks - Horticultural Division.

All rentals are handled through the Baltimore City Horticultural Division office. Reservations are taken up to one year and one day in advance of the event. Ciara Willis is the Event Coordinator. Contact the Event Coordinator for prices and to reserve a date. Email is best or by phone. Dates will be held for 5 business days without a deposit. If the deposit is not paid within 5 days, the reservation will be canceled.

The Tyson Family Jesse Tyson was a successful businessman as the President of Baltimore Chrome Works. He began construction of Cylburn Mansion in 1863 as a summer home for his mother and himself. Baltimore Chrome Works was in the business of mining exporting chromite throughout the world.

Mansion The Mansion is a luxurious post-Civil War dwelling, built of gneiss from Tyson's quarries at Bare Hills, Maryland, with mansard roof, a tower and a cupola of Italianate design. Its fireplaces, inlaid floors, mosaics, tapestries and ornate plaster work have been preserved.

Historic Grounds In 1954, the Board of Recreation and Parks founded the Cylburn Wildflower Preserve and Garden Center. A group of volunteers designed trails and gardens and developed the Cylburn grounds as a center for environmental education and horticulture. In 1982, the Preserve was renamed Cylburn Arboretum.