Archives

• Horticultural Garden Notes: Collection Inventory, Fall Color and Hardy Larches, and Volunteers Power Through January 2, 2019

  Collection Inventory Field Check Over the course of the fall, garden staff conducted an inventory field check for the approximately 4,000 accessioned plants in … Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Winter Plans January 2, 2019

  As winter deeply settles in this month, gardeners dream about and plan for a new season. Outdoor tasks are pruning and clearing up storm damage. Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Gardener's Bookshelf November 29, 2018

  In quiet December, our gardens have short days, patterns in ice, drifted snow, bare branches, snow-capped bird nests, dried stalks, and hardy winter animals. Indoor … Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Photography as a Garden Tool October 31, 2018

  In November, we may see frosty mornings and a few measurable early snowfalls. Leaves have mostly fallen and landscape colors are muted. Seed heads are … Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Fall Changes and Winter Preparation September 30, 2018

  October brings rapid seasonal change: peak fall color and leaf drop, animals and insects going into dormancy, birds migrating from—or to—our area, seed dispersal, decreasing … Read more

• Horticultural Garden Notes: Growing Season 2018 August 30, 2018

  Event lawn beds redesigned This spring, two garden beds that border the events lawn were replanted based on a design by landscape architect Dennis Buettner. Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Summer Reflections August 30, 2018

  September takes the garden from summer to fall, with plants growing more slowly or dying back, late season flowering, color changes, fruits and seeds maturing, … Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Worts and Weeds, pt. 2 August 2, 2018

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

• Gardening with Native Plants: Worts and Weeds, pt. 1 June 28, 2018

  In July, the native plant garden shifts into summer. Plants reach full height, more species come into bloom, insects call, and fledging songbirds make short … Read more

• Horticultural Garden Notes: Tree Labels, Spring Trail Pond, and Black Tupelo Relocation May 1, 2018

  Tree Display Labels With more than 2,500 kinds of trees in Longenecker Horticultural Gardens, it can be daunting for a non-expert to know what they … Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: The Bumble Bee Flight Season Begins May 1, 2018

  Memory of this year’s late slow spring may dim this month as warmer temperatures and new growth move across the landscape. Garden areas with prescribed … Read more

• What's in Bloom? April 11, 2018

  This is a selective list of popular blooming plants in the Wisconsin Native Plant Garden (NPG), Longenecker Horticultural Gardens (LHG), and woodlands, prairies, savannas, and wetlands. Estimated … Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Woodland Plants for Shaded Gardens April 2, 2018

  April in Wisconsin brings anticipation for spring and daily changes in plant emergence and bloom. In the prairie gardens, favorites like pasqueflower (Anemone patens) and … Read more

• Garden Tours: Community Enjoyment and Learning April 2, 2018

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

• Asian Jumping Worms: What We Know March 30, 2018

  Ecologist Brad Herrick spoke to Margaret Roach about jumping worms for her “A Way to Garden” podcast, which is produced by Robin Hood Radio in … Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Short Native Grasses and Forbs for Small Gardens February 28, 2018

  Our 4-acre Wisconsin Native Plant Garden includes a range of gardens inspired by plant communities found in nature, from sand prairie to maple-basswood forest. These … Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Planning Spring Plantings January 31, 2018

  Even with only 28 days, somehow February can stretch from the depths of winter to very early signs of spring. In this month of contrasts, … Read more

• Horticultural Garden Notes: 2017 Growing Season January 3, 2018

  Weather and Maintenance Weather extremes posed challenges for the Longenecker Horticultural Gardens collection this year. The growing season started out wet, cool, and cloudy … Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Shrubs for the New Year January 3, 2018

  A typical January begins with cold temperatures, biting wind, and still-short days—and only the distant promise of a new gardening season. In the garden, there … Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Gardener’s Bookshelf November 29, 2017

  December is the year’s darkest month, when Wisconsin gardens and landscapes might receive their first substantial snow. Deep snow insulates the soil, delaying freezing. Lighter … Read more