Lyman Estate propagates trees and echoes of a merchant past

The greenhouses, built from 1804 to 1930, are among the oldest in the United States. The earliest were the pride of Boston merchant Thomas Lyman, who in 1793 acquired 400 acres for a farm and summer home. Lyman planned the grounds in the English manner with a deer park (now Bentley University’s campus), “pleasure grounds,’’ gardens, greenhouses, and a working farm. The Grape House (1804) was the first hothouse, built to raise the exotic fruits. Over time, Lyman’s descendants added others.

The remaining 40-acre property is part of the nonprofit Historic New England. Visitors can also tour the Federal-style mansion.

The Grape House contains the oldest plants in the collection. The Black Hamburg grapes were grown from cuttings taken in 1870 from greenhouses at Britain’s royal Hampton Court. The Camellia Greenhouse, circa 1820, is one of the few remnants of an era when Boston’s gentry competed to own and hybridize the finest specimens.

Visitors are welcome to wander and take photos on their own, but on a one-hour tour led by one of the staff horticulturalists, you learn more. The free tours are available the first Wednesday of the month on the hour from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

When I took the tour, horticulturalist Debbie Merriam pointed to neat rows of potted twigs. They are part of an ongoing National Park Service project for which the horticulturalists here propagate historical specimens.

In addition to year-round sales of tropical house plants, herbs and orchids, there’s a small gift shop and a friendly black cat named Margarita.

Janet Mendelsohn can be reached at janet@janetmendelsohn.com.