Archives

• Longenecker Lawns: More than Grass May 2, 2022

  While the trees and shrubs draw people’s attention in the Longenecker Horticultural Gardens living collections, the green expanse of lawn sets them off. These lawns… Read more

• "Canopy Understories" Sculpture Installation Coming to Longenecker Horticultural Gardens April 18, 2022

  The Madison Public Art Project has commissioned Madison-based artists Laura Richards and William Grant Turnbull to create a new sculpture series, “Canopy Understories,” which… Read more

• Celebrating Persistence and Re-emergence: Appreciating the 2021 Volunteers March 31, 2022

  Spring, April: a time of rebirth and renewal in the north, a time to appreciate having endured another cold dark winter and embracing the return… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Emerging Bees, Living Lawns March 31, 2022

  April brings welcome spring to southern Wisconsin. In deciduous woodlands, small spring ephemerals emerge and flower, and tree canopy leaf-out begins. In prairies and savannas,… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Spring Planting, Late Summer Blooms March 2, 2022

  Longer and warmer days, higher sun angles, and mud mark the beginning of spring this month. By the end of March, several Native Plant Garden… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Summer Flowers January 27, 2022

  Technically, February isn’t the end of winter, but it’s the beginning of the end. With small signs, like melting ice and the crunch of soft… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Winter Planning January 7, 2022

  January is, on average, our coldest month of the year. It may bring significant snow and several days of extreme cold. Gardens are dormant, save… Read more

• Horticultural Garden Notes: Creating the Children’s Activity Area January 6, 2022

  Shortly after coming to the Arboretum in 2015, I recognized the potential in a roughly one-acre area bordering the Longenecker Horticultural Gardens that had long… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Winter Reading December 1, 2021

  December is a quiet month of cold, short days with blowing and drifting snow possible, even likely. Outdoor garden tasks are usually limited by weather,… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Hidden from View October 28, 2021

  In its many guises, November offers fall, winter, and everything in between. Fall color remains here and there while daylength shortens, and wind, cold rain,… Read more

• Horticultural Garden Notes: Fall 2021 September 26, 2021

  Pollinator Monitoring in Panicle Hydrangea Collection This year marks the third summer of data collection for the Panicle Hydrangea Pollinator Monitoring Project in Longenecker Horticultural… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Fall Reflections September 26, 2021

  October brings the end of flowering in the Native Plant Garden. A few autumn sights include late-blooming asters and goldenrods setting seed, tall grasses in… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Rain Gardens in Drought September 1, 2021

  In September, the garden usually experiences cooler high and low daily temperatures and decreasing rainfall compared to the summer months. Plant growth slows and some… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Silphiums in Bloom July 1, 2021

  July is the peak of summer, reaching the highest average temperatures of the year toward the end of the month. Plants in the prairie, savanna,… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Summer Begins June 9, 2021

  Long day length, warm spring temperatures, and the first day of summer are among the highlights of gardening in June. This month brings exuberant plant… Read more

• Outdoor Events Resume with New Nature Spaces for Learning and Exploration May 10, 2021

  In-person educational events resume outdoors beginning in June, with some precautions in place. In addition, we are excited to announce two new educational spaces for… Read more

• Horticultural Garden Notes: Spring 2021 May 3, 2021

  Goodbye to a Special Tree On March 1 we said goodbye to a special tree, a native white ash (Fraxinus americana) cultivar named ‘Autumn Purple’… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Spring Changes May 3, 2021

  April’s promise becomes rapid growth and change in our landscapes in May. Bird and monarch migration, tree canopy leaf out, insect larvae hatching and feeding,… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Spring Plants and Pollinators March 30, 2021

  Even if winter lingers in March, April leads to true spring: longer and warmer days, adequate rainfall, and changing colors as tree buds swell and… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Trees and Shrubs March 1, 2021

  Despite the possibility of snow or ice storms this month, gardeners anticipate March. We note longer days, increasing sun angles, the equinox, shrinking snowpack, and… Read more