Archives

• Gardening with Native Plants: Planning for Pollinators January 7, 2025

  In our Wisconsin climate, January is an unlikely month for actual gardening, but seeding and planning for the new season is underway at the Arboretum. Read more

• Monarchs Proposed to Be Listed as Threatened Species December 10, 2024

  On December 10, 2024, “the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced its decision on whether to give monarchs protection under the Endangered Species Act… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Winter Reading December 2, 2024

  December is the first month of meteorological winter and brings the shortest days of the year, often with cold and snow. Gardens are quiet this… Read more

• Land Care Report: The Stages of Restoring Valuable Oak Savannas November 4, 2024

  When people think of Arboretum restorations, they likely envision prairies, especially Curtis and Greene Prairies. That makes sense, given the historical importance of Curtis and… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Autumn Care and Reflections November 4, 2024

  Late fall arrives in November, with colder days, possible frosts, shifting winds, shorter daylength, and neutral colors. Plants go into dormancy; some still hold seeds. Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Addition and Division October 2, 2024

  October is the heart of autumn as fall color develops and peaks in woodlands and prairies, on trees, shrubs and grasses. Our garden tasks include… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Considerations for Starting a Garden September 3, 2024

  During September, summer and autumn overlap. Temperatures and blooming phenology may vary this month, but the trend is cooler days with fewer flowers. Leaves and… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Late Summer July 31, 2024

  Will August bring mid-summer heat or a transition to fall? Dry weeks or more rainy days? Gardening tasks include harvesting seeds from plants that bloomed… Read more

• Art on View: Illustrating Wisconsin's Wild Lakes June 30, 2024

  “Illustrating Wisconsin’s Wild Lakes,” original illustrations by Rebecca Jabs for John Bates’s book Wisconsin’s Wild Lakes, will be on view in the Steinhauer Trust Gallery… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Midsummer June 30, 2024

  Native plant gardens take on a summer look this month. Typically, July brings the warmest average temperatures of the year, peaking at an average high… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Garden Care June 3, 2024

  With the spring plant sale “season” behind us and new native plants taking root in gardens, we turn to long-term care of these areas. Although… Read more

• How to Create a Beautiful Pollinator Garden that Supports Butterflies and Bees May 30, 2024

  “Traditional yards with pristine lawns and few plants act as ecological deserts. However, it doesn’t have to be this way. Installing a pollinator garden is… Read more

• Art on View: Driftless Prairie Visions May 1, 2024

  “Driftless Prairie Visions,” a multimedia exhibit by the five-artist group Prairie Imaginarium, will be on view in the Arboretum Visitor Center in May and June. Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: May Flowers May 1, 2024

  Wisconsin spring is in full swing in May and change is everywhere – budding, germination, decomposition, emergence, migration, fresh new growth, and warmth. We welcome… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Spring Changes April 1, 2024

  April can be a month of all-too-rapid spring growth or all-too-slow development in our gardens and landscapes. Often, the month brings both as temperatures and… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Rain Gardens February 29, 2024

  March is a month of change – from winter to spring, from cool temperatures to warmer, from frozen soil to early mud season. So far, winter… Read more

• Eastern Monarch Population Decreased in Winter 2023–24 February 8, 2024

  “Every year, World Wildlife Fund (WWF)–Mexico, in collaboration with the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas in Mexico and the WWF-TELMEX Telcel Foundation Alliance, monitors… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Short Gardens January 30, 2024

  February falls in the middle of winter but often brings early hints of seasonal change – softening ice and snow, more daylight, and warmer winter days. We still have time for garden planning, imagining changes and additions to our gardens, and making plant orders. Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Planning Season January 3, 2024

  During January, gardens are typically quiet, snow-covered, chilly, and dormant. It is an inviting time to envision additions and changes to your garden, consider adding… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Subdued Landscapes October 30, 2023

  This month brings shorter days, low sun angles, frost, cold rain, wind, and low cloud cover. The vivid colors of October are replaced by the… Read more