Archives

• Jumping Worm Research Enhanced by Student Researchers September 29, 2022

  Non-native invasive species can negatively affect the conservation of native species, restoration goals for natural areas, and general ecosystem health. At the Arboretum, we manage… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Seasonal Change September 29, 2022

  Some months hold more seasonal change than others. In October, the first frost may arrive, daylength and temperatures decline, fall color develops fully, and winter… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: The Latest Asters August 30, 2022

  September brings the end of the flowering season as fall arrives in native plant gardens. A few flowers may linger into October, but this month… Read more

• The Longenecker Horticultural Gardens Lilac Collection August 30, 2022

  The Longenecker Horticultural Gardens lilac collection dates to the Gardens’ inception in 1935 and remains one of the largest collections in North America. While numerous… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Summer Shift August 1, 2022

  August brings mostly warm days, and perhaps subtle cooler hints of fall. It can be a rainy month, or a time when dry conditions deepen. Read more

• Monarch Butterflies Have Been Declared Engangered. What Can We Do to Save Them? July 24, 2022

  Ayesha Rascoe speaks with conservation biologist Karen Oberhauser about why the migratory monarch butterfly was just declared endangered, and what can be done in response. Read more

• Sustainable Lawn Care July 18, 2022

  The Arboretum’s mission and land care work focuses on conserving and restoring natural areas. We also manage dozens of acres of lawn, mostly in our… Read more

• Arboretum Hosts Native Gardening Conference September 18 July 15, 2022

  Learn Sustainable Gardening Practices and How to Use Native Plants in Home Landscapes The UW–Madison Arboretum will host its 2022 Native Gardening Conference, “Native… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: Midsummer Highlights June 30, 2022

  Our native gardens take on a summer look this month. July brings the warmest average temperatures of the year, with a peak average high of… Read more

• Director's Note, July 2022 June 30, 2022

  This year’s Native Plant Sale was a huge success, thanks to the Friends of the Arboretum board, Native Plant Sale coordinator Mary Chandler, the dozens… Read more

• Gardening with Native Plants: At the Root May 2, 2022

  Even during a cool spring like this one (at this writing), May brings a flush of growth – stems, leaves, flowers – especially in the woodland… Read more

• 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