Archives

• 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's in Bloom? April 2, 2026

  This page offers bloom updates for popular trees and shrubs in Longenecker Horticultural Gardens and native plants in the Wisconsin Native Plant Garden and natural… Read more

• Volunteers Engage for the Good of the Community April 1, 2026

  April brings National Volunteer Week (April 19–25) and Earth Day (April 22) – a concentrated recognition of action by, and appreciation for, volunteers who care… 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

• Garden Tours: Grow Your Plant Knowledge March 17, 2026

  Spring blooming trees and shrubs, summer wildflowers, fall color, and towering prairie grasses are only some of the delights to be found in the Arboretum’s… 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

• 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

• Giving Thanks and Celebrating Volunteers December 2, 2025

  We’ve entered the season of thanksgiving and celebration, reflection and connection – an ideal time to “bellow forth the tubas and sousaphones, the whole rusty… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Gardener’s Bookshelf December 2, 2025

  December usually brings cold days, crisp air, freezing lakes, animal tracks, and snow shoveling. This month always brings the longest nights and the winter solstice,… 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

• Fall Color, Weather, and Forecasts October 1, 2025

  As fall begins and day length gradually shortens, trees are being cued that winter is approaching. In response, deciduous trees (those that lose… 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

• Appreciating Student Staff September 17, 2025

  The Arboretum hires more than a dozen college students a year, for summer seasonal roles as outdoor educators and assistant staff in land care and… 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

• Gardening with Native Plants: “Weeds” and Weeds July 31, 2025

  In the native plant garden, August is a transition month between mid-summer growth and the colors, flowers, and seed heads of the fall season. Garden… Read more

• People Caring for the Land: Volunteers, Communities, and Connection July 31, 2025

  Spring brought abundant blossoms, greening of the prairie, songs of migratory birds, and many volunteer groups active on the land. In just thirteen… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Garden Animals June 2, 2025

  June brings the longest day lengths, warm temperatures, and usually ample precipitation. Plants grow rapidly and summer blooms begin. This month, garden tasks… Read more