The greater Botanic Gardens includes 40 different nature areas around Cornell and Ithaca, covering 4,300 acres (1,700 ha).

The origin of the Botanic Gardens dates back to Cornell's beginning in the mid-19th century and are part of the university's longtime interest in agriculture, forestry, and the natural sciences.

The Botanic Gardens offers three courses for academic credit, are used as a resource by other classes, host a number of informal lectures and tours, and have played a part in many scholarly papers.

In 1862, Cornell's first president, Andrew Dickson White, wrote a colleague that a great university should include a botanical garden: “It must have the best of Libraries – collections in different departments – Laboratory – Observatory – Botanical Garden perhaps…”[1] At the university's opening ceremony in 1868, Louis Agassiz, an internationally known naturalist, remarked that no other area could compete with Cornell's surroundings in the opportunities offered for the study of natural history.

From its inception, Cornell formed a reputation for creative means of research into the natural sciences, including the establishment of the pioneering College of Agriculture.

From 1935 to 1940, the federal government's Civilian Conservation Corps Camp SP 48 devoted 170 to 200 workers to planting trees, constructing dikes, and building trails in order to develop the Arboretum.

[4][7][8] In 1944, Liberty Hyde Bailey, the Dean emeritus of the College of Agriculture and a horticulturalist highly regarded around the world,[2] proposed the name Cornell Plantations for an expanded department in a report that reflected the work of a number of botany and horticulture professors.

[17] A successful countermeasure created by Gerardo Sciarra at the Plantations was covering the trees with a harmless yet visually unpleasant "Ugly Mix" spray that included hydrated limestone, an anti-desiccant, and water.

[21][22] Five years in the designing and building, the new facility was built to LEED gold standards and won a 2010 Award of Excellence from Canadian Architect magazine.

Source of plant: The American Chestnut Foundation, Allen Nichols, Stanley Scharf [28] In addition, the arboretum features an extensive set of trails.

[58] In conjunction with the Department of Horticulture in the College of Agriculture, the Plantations has sponsored a Graduate Fellowship in Public Garden Leadership, where students earn a Master of Professional Studies degree after a four-semester program.

[59] As one description stated, academic departments or individuals using the Plantations have included "geologists, archaeologists, physiologists, horticulturalists, artists, architects, and engineers.

[65] In addition, the College of Agriculture operates the Arnot Woods as a teaching forest, about 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Ithaca;[66] it was given to the university in 1927.

[69] In fact, during the latter part of the 20th century, public gardens attached to colleges and universities such as the Plantations became a popular trend, due to the beneficial effects they had on campus unity and recruitment of students, creating bonds with and outreach to the local community, and providing a basis for ongoing research as well as establishing a living museum.

[59] The Plantations earned a relatively brief mention as a campus diversion in the 112-page Cornell Desk Book publication of 1972 aimed at incoming students.

[72] In 1987, the Plantations released a VHS video entitled A Year in the Garden, which showed seasonal changes in the F. R. Newman Arboretum and along the trails.

[74] Working with the Newman's Own Foundation and the Center for Plant Conservation, the Plantations are trying to restore the regional population of the American globeflower (Trollius laxus).

[76] From the campus, one walks out Forest Home Drive past the College of Agriculture quadrangle;[35] the nearest highway is New York State Route 366.

[76] Fodor's travel book for New York State lists the Plantations as an ordinary entry and says the gardens have "interesting cold-weather colors and textures".

[84] The Moon Handbooks volume for the state also lists it as a regular entry, without much commentary,[85] as does the Great Destinations series The Finger Lakes Book.

[29] The Plantations provide a venue for a number of annual activities, including a "Fall In" festival,[88] a celebration of Arbor Day[89] and the Cornell Reunion 5 Mile Run.