The message seemed kind of cryptic: Meet in the oak collection, north of Valley Road at the northern end of Oak Path. But, the term “collection” was the tip-off that this mob meeting would be more horticultural than clandestine.

The Arnold Arboretum, a 265-acre botanical garden run jointly by Harvard University and the city of Boston, now hosts what it called “Tree mobs.”  Late on Thursday afternoon about 50 people wandered into the garden looking for the oaks. Some were guided by signs posted along the way that read “Join our Tree Mob. Casual learning in the landscape.” Others had scanned the QR code on the signs or the arboretum’s website for a GPS map that led the way to the oak-lined path.

(The codes on many of the garden’s plant labels –and the nod to the flash mob concept — reflect the Arboretum’s embrace of digital technology.) Continue reading →