Walking With Buzzy

You'd think a rainy day isn't the best time to on an outdoor tour.

But Al Bussewitz, the most popular and longest-serving guide at Harvard's Arnold Arboretum, can show you his haunt's beauty even on a cold and drizzly day.

"See that dogwood, how it's fringed with raindrops? That's an effect you can get only on days like this," says Bussewitz, a sprightly man in his early 70s. Buzzy, as he prefers to be called, has studied plants for more than 40 years and has been a volunteer at the arboretum for more than a decade since his retirement.

While the scope of the arboretum's collection has grown considerably since its emphasis on native New England plants in its early days, it still retains the layout conceived by its designer, Frederick Law Olmsted. Charles Sprague Sargent, the arboretum's first director, conducted most of the field work himself, while the conservatory was in its infancy.

"Sargent and Olmsted took advantage of the vales and hills of the land here and set up the arboretum to fit as many different types of trees and plants as possible," Bussewitz says. "Only in a place like this can you find trees of this diversity so beautifully juxtaposed."

In a little over an hour Bussewitz can lead a tour group around all of the arboretum grounds accessible by road. Although cars are not ordinarily allowed into the arboretum, guides conduct bus tours on Sundays.

"We have 265 acres of plants, more plants gathered together than almost any other place on earth," says Garry Koller, the managing horticulturist at the arboretum. "There's a lot to see."

The arboretum's more than 7,000 kinds of trees, shrubs and other plants are scattered throughout its 265 acre area. The hilly terrain hides most of the encroaching suburban buildings, but at the end of one path is a parking lot with graffiti on its back wall. Beyond the lot is a low concrete building resembling a factory. At a turn in another path a high-rise apartment building looms over the grounds.

Bussewitz, in his tours, emphasizes the proximity of nearby Boston and the Blue Hills south of the arboretum. In the city, he says, it's easy to forget just how close nature is and just how fast its beauty is disappearing.

Bussewitz adds that while the arboretum's research on rain forests will help conservation efforts scientifically, the arboretum's tours and education programs help raise public awareness of the problems of deforestation.

Admission to the arboretum is free, but Bussewitz and other guides give van-guided tours on Sundays which cost $1 for senior citizens and $2 for everyone else. The bulk of visitors to the arboretum, however, either go on free self-guided tours or group tours Bussewitz gives for $50 per group.