Archives

• Ninety Years of Research Shape the Arboretum’s Future September 1, 2026

  In fall 1935, Norman Fassett, a botanist and UW–Madison professor, led a series of excursions to southern Wisconsin prairie remnants. John Thomson, a botany graduate… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Garden Records September 1, 2026

  September brings the end of the summer, marked by changes in day length and temperature. Hints of fall color appear. Some plants produce fruit and… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: August Transitions August 18, 2026

  By early August, the summer solstice in June is more distant than the approaching autumnal equinox in September. Spring and early summer’s vigorous garden growth… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Adaptations July 15, 2026

  July is the warmest month of the Wisconsin year, with average high temperatures peaking in the mid-80s. Heat and humidity, intense sunlight, long daylength, drying… Read more

• UW Arboretum’s Native Gardening Conference Paused for 2026 June 16, 2026

  Over the past twenty years, thousands of gardeners have attended Native by Design: Gardening for a Sustainable Future to learn about sustainable gardening practices and… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Spring Grasses and Sedges June 16, 2026

  June brings the late-spring-to-early-summer transition, the longest days, rapid growth, and early flowering in gardens. Bird migration and insect emergence lead to nesting among and… Read more

• What Is the Small Tower in Curtis Prairie? It's Science! May 15, 2026

  In mid-May, a small research tower was installed in Curtis Prairie. A flux tower – or eddy covariance tower – holds scientific instruments that measure fluctuating… Read more

• Art on View: Nature’s Canvas: Tiny Expressions of Landscapes, Life, and Learning May 5, 2026

  “Nature’s Canvas: Tiny Expressions of Landscapes, Life, and Learning” is a group multimedia exhibit of “tiny art” smaller than 6 by 6 inches. It will… Read more

• Fungi, Community, and Discovery: Arboretum Citizen Science and Community-Based Learning April 21, 2026

  The UW–Madison Arboretum has long served as a site for integrating ecological research, environmental education, and community engagement. A recent collaboration with a UW professor,… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Wisconsin Turns Green April 1, 2026

  In April, shades of green usually return to the muted Wisconsin landscape, transforming it. Yellow-green, pale green, gray-green tinted with pink, bright green, and many… Read more

• Spring Is Prescribed Fire Season March 24, 2026

  Prescribed fire season is underway at the Arboretum. Wisconsin’s prairies, oak savannas, oak woodlands, and even some wetlands evolved to rely on fire for regeneration. Read more

• Celebrate Restoration Team Leaders – and Maybe Become One! February 26, 2026

  We are excited, come April, to continue a longstanding Arboretum program: training and welcoming new volunteer restoration team leaders! Since 2002, team leaders have directed… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Sunny Gardens February 26, 2026

  March may be the most anticipated month in the gardening year as the growing season approaches. It brings the beginning of meteorological spring (March 1),… Read more

• Become a Restoration Team Leader: Care for Nature and Build Community February 3, 2026

  Are you interested in growing your ecological expertise and contributing to local conservation efforts? Become an Arboretum restoration team leader! Team leaders are trained volunteers… Read more

• Restoration Work Parties Resume Mid-February, with Changes February 3, 2026

  On many Saturdays, somewhere in the Arboretum, an exceptional mix of dedicated volunteers pull weedy plants from soils, lop woody brush in a restored woodland,… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: February Planning February 3, 2026

  February brings winter weather but also hints of seasonal change to come. Snowy gardens are covered with animal tracks and scattered wind-blown twigs and branches. Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Garden Kits January 5, 2026

  Instead of marking a beginning in the garden, January is peak dormant season. Roots, buds, plant crowns at and under the soil surface,… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: November Leaves and Grasses November 4, 2025

  November quiets the garden. Growth stops, seeds scatter, dormancy begins or continues. By month’s end, we may see snow that sticks. At the Arboretum, we… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Falling Leaves, Seeds, and Temperatures October 1, 2025

  October in the garden can be warm and colorful or frosty and drab as leaves fall, dry, and blow into drifts and seeds disperse on… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Fungi in the Gardens September 4, 2025

  This summer, the Native Plant Garden was full of flowers, growth, animals, people, and learning. UW–Madison students Holly and Kate joined me and dozens of… Read more