| | The LSU AgCenter's Burden Center is located on Essen Lane near the intersection of Interstates 10 and 12 in Baton Rouge. (Photo by John Wozniak) |
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| | Burden Center is the home of a wide array of horticultural research projects as well as formal and informal gardens and woods. (Photo by John Wozniak) |
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| | Dedicated in June 1998, the orangerie enhances Windrush Gardens and serves as a gathering place for a variety of events. (Photo by John Wozniak) |
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Situated on a tract of 440 acres of open land in the heart of Baton Rouge, Burden Center is one of the LSU AgCenter’s 20 research stations around the state. Acquired by John Charles Burden in the mid 19th century and originally dubbed Windrush Plantation, Burden Center is the home of a wide array of horticultural research projects as well as formal and informal gardens and woods.
In 1966, the descendants of John Charles Burden – Steele Burden, former landscaper for the LSU campus, Ione Burden, his sister and former assistant dean of women at LSU, and Jeanette Burden, widow of their brother Pike Burden – donated 50 acres to LSU. Over succeeding years, they donated additional tracts until the final parcel was given in 1992.
The Burden family stipulated that the property be used for horticultural and agronomic research and for development of a Rural Life Museum and be devoid of buildings not necessary for these purposes. To secure LSU’s future adherence to these stipulations, the Ione Burden Foundation was formed to ensure basic compliance with the intent of the donation. This foundation is composed of 12-14 prominent citizens interested in this resource.
Horticulture, Turf Research
In 2004, a former 25-acre hay field was unveiled as a new turf grass and ornamental horticulture research space. “This is a welcomed and valuable addition to Burden Center,” said Pat Hegwood, the center’s resident director.
The research area comprises 25 acres and a 3,000-square-foot greenhouse. It includes a recently installed irrigation system for turf research, and a water well is on tap. Well water is significantly better for irrigation than municipal water.
The research programs are designed to support commercial nursery, landscape and turf grass operators in Louisiana. Much of the research results also are adaptable to home lawns and gardens.
Wholesale production of nursery plants is a $100 million to $120 million per year industry in Louisiana. And when you add retail sales, landscaping and other segments of the green industry, the contribution to the Louisiana economy approaches $2.2 billion a year.
The Louisiana Nursery and Landscape Association contributed funds to the research facility with a part of a grant it received from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“The nursery industry appreciates the AgCenter’s efforts,” Cody Arceneaux of Live Oak Gardens in New Iberia said during a 2004 field day. “Our commitment stands because what they do affects us every day. We look forward to years of great research and positive gain from this facility.”
Annual and Perennial Plant Trial Gardens
Burden Center conducts plant trials year-round to evaluate the performance of landscape bedding plants and vegetable plants appropriate for South Louisiana. Warm-season and cool-season bedding plants are rotated annually in approximately 5,000 square feet of raised beds. A broad range of plant species are evaluated to determine disease and insect resistance, bloom quality and duration, cut flower potential, cold and heat tolerance, and overall landscape performance and adaptability. Other trials evaluate various varieties of such plants as tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, strawberries, peaches, satsumas and many other commercial and home garden vegetables and fruits.
Windrush Gardens
Adjacent to the original Burden home, which was on the last donated parcel, Windrush Gardens feature about 15 acres of semiformal gardens, with winding paths, lakes and open areas designed and planted by Steele Burden. The crape myrtles, azaleas, camellias and other plants are representative of flora in 19th century plantation gardens. Numerous bronze or marble statues, mostly from Europe, are placed throughout the gardens.
The original Windrush Garden is a 3½-acre area around the original Burden home. The Burden Center maintains it exactly as it was when Steele Burden designed it. “We don’t add to it or take anything away,” Hegwood said. “We have a documented inventory of the original Windrush Garden.”
Since then, however, the cultivated area has grown to about 15 acres with the design in keeping with Steele Burden’s original design. In the newer area, the AgCenter has been adding and enhancing the garden with newer plant varieties. In areas where Steele Burden planted camellias, the AgCenter has planted camellias; where he planted azaleas, the AgCenter has planted azaleas.
The Camellia Gardens
Complementing Steele Burden’s original plantings, the AgCenter acquired more than 450 identified camellia varieties from the private collection of Violet Stone in 2002. When Violet Stone died in 2001, she left a Baton Rouge garden brimming with about 500 named varieties and 200-300 more unknown or duplicated camellia bushes. With the help of Violet’s daughter, Stella Stone Cooper of Paramus, N.J., and longtime family friend and camellia collector Art Landry of Baton Rouge, staff from the Burden Center identified and collected cuttings from all but about 30 varieties in the Stone collection. The cuttings were cataloged and propagated. Later, the camellia bushes themselves were removed from the Stone residence in Baton Rouge’s Garden District and transplanted to Burden Center.
Now planted in several locations at Burden Center, the camellia gardens are supported by the Baton Rouge Camellia Society, which propagates plants from the collection and sells them. Burden Center receives a portion of the proceeds of the sales. Plans are being developed to create “camellia rooms” featuring different types or colors of camellias – white, red, pink – under a comprehensive landscape plan.
“This is in keeping with Mr. Burden’s plans,” Hegwood said. “He was interested in creating garden rooms.” Hegwood is expecting sponsorships for individual rooms from various camellia groups affiliated with the Gulf Coast Camilla Society.
All-America Rose Garden
Burden Center is a member of All-America Rose Selection’s nationwide network of approved public gardens. AARS public gardens contain a minimum of 800 rose bushes and offer special displays of outstanding new varieties chosen by AARS for their beauty, novelty and vigor. The rose garden was renovated and replanted in 2005 with a grant from the Steele Burden Foundation. The garden has new drains, renewed beds and new plants that have been grafted onto more stable and long-lasting rootstock. More long-stem, florist varieties have been included, and new varieties are added regularly.
AARS public gardens meet strict requirements, especially in upkeep and public display, and are reviewed annually. The AgCenter also conducts annual surveys to evaluate plants for disease resistance and overall performance in South Louisiana. Optimum times for viewing the rose garden are mid-March through April and mid-October through November.
Other Garden Areas
A new International Hibiscus Garden has been started with a gift from the Baton Rouge Hibiscus Society and is supported by the Red Stick Hibiscus Society. This garden includes more than 100 varieties, which are kept during the winter in a greenhouse and replanted every spring. In addition, four plant beds in the orangerie are planted with hibiscus throughout the year.
- The Barton Arboretum, which includes a pond and gazebo, is featured at Burden Center. The arboretum is dedicated to Scott Duchein Barton, wife of John Barton, who was a lifelong friend of Steele Burden.
- A Memorial Live Oak Garden features trees that have been dedicated to friends of the AgCenter.
- The LSU AgCenter School of Renewable Natural Resources is establishing a collection of trees that hold the potential of supplying important anti-carcinogenic compounds.
- Botanist Jim Wandersee is conducting research on the life history and plant ecology to learn more about Louisiana’s native palm, the dwarf palmetto, Sabal minor.
Steele Burden Memorial Orangerie
Part conservatory and part interpretive in construction, orangeries originally were designed to house or protect citrus trees during cold weather, hence the name. The 1,242-square-foot Burden orangerie includes a main room for displaying tropical and subtropical plants along with four smaller rooms that currently house hibiscus displays.
Following Steele Burden’s death in 1995, his close friends developed the orangerie as a memorial to his significant contributions to the community. Dedicated in June 1998, the orangerie enhances Windrush Gardens and serves as a gathering place for a variety of events.
Ione Burden Conference Center
The Ione E. Burden Conference Center includes a 2,400-square-foot meeting room served by a kitchen and outdoor covered patio/cooking area. The room is furnished with 12 tables and 90 comfortable chairs. A beautiful setting for conferences and workshops, the facility will accommodate all types of audiovisual projection equipment.
The Ione Burden Conference Center is used an average of four to five days a week by the AgCenter, LSU units and private companies for seminars and workshops and by organizations and individuals for parties, receptions and family reunions.
Rural Life Museum
Along with the AgCenter’s research and demonstration activities, LSU operates the Rural Life Museum in a 7-acre corner of Burden Center. The museum has received an additional nine acres from the AgCenter and will break ground in 2008 on a $4.6 million expansion.
Largely forgotten by the 20th century, the lifestyles and cultures of preindustrial Louisiana are recalled at the LSU Rural Life Museum. Through its extensive collection of tools, utensils, furniture and farming equipment, the museum preserves and interprets an important part of the state’s and nation’s rural heritage. The museum also serves as a research facility for LSU students engaged in heritage conservation studies.
The LSU AgCenter is one of 11 institutions of higher education in the Louisiana State University System. Headquartered in Baton Rouge, it provides educational services in every parish and conducts research that contributes to the economic development of the state. The LSU AgCenter does not grant degrees nor benefit from tuition increases. The LSU AgCenter plays an integral role in supporting agricultural industries, enhancing the environment, and improving the quality of life through its 4-H youth, family and community programs.