By Chelsea Reil, News Staff

With rain clouds hovering over Boston lately, it may seem like summer won’t show up at all. And with hurdles like classes, work, traffic and the general bustle of the city, it can get to be too much. Everyone needs some respite now and then.
Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain is the place to go to get back in touch with nature. With 265 acres of hydrangeas bursting with different colors, giant butterfly bushes attracting moths and butterflies and bonsai trees from the 1700s waiting for visitors, the time to go is now.
The Arnold Arboretum, owned by Harvard University, is the oldest public tree museum in North America. As of March, the living collections comprised 15,467 individual plants, including nursery holdings, belonging to 10,316 accessions representing 4,030 taxa (groups of organisms), said Michael S. Dosmann, the curator of living collections at the Arnold Arboretum.
‘I love the Mary Potter, a hybrid crabapple tree with a low canopy, planted at the arboretum in 1952,’ he said. ‘And I’ve been really into the seven-son-flower this season, a very colorful shrub imported from China in 1980. It changes everyday.’
The Arboretum’s mission is blend of research, horticulture and education to create a greater understanding and appreciation of the earth, according to its website. Patrons can participate in classes on everything from therapeutic landscaping to floral structures, art exhibits and take a guided tour.
Melissa MacDonald, a graphic designer, was a member of the free walking tour on a recent weekend.
She said she was having a rough time because of her allergies; she left her medication at home, but, despite the sniffles, said she loves the park.
‘It’s just so beautiful,’ she said. ‘It reminds me of Ireland. In early spring, the entire place is filled with lilacs. But there’s always something blooming, all summer long.’
Julie Warsowe, manager of visitor education at the arboretum, said she enjoys the space as well.
‘It’s a fortunate year for us,’ said Warsowe, referring to the weather. ‘Punches of heat and then a cool spell, not all of this rain ‘- it’s great. But that’s the great thing about the arboretum ‘- there are always lots of things in bloom.’
Megan McCormick, a 2009 Northeastern graduate who is starting graduate school here in September, said the park is an escape.
‘When you go there, you feel like you’re in a whole different world, except you can see the skyline at the top of one of the hills,’ said McCormick. ‘I just love it. I go there a lot to get away from the city.’