Archives

• 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

• How to Help Wisconsin's Disappearing Native Bees in Your Yard April 15, 2022

  “The homeland of the federally endangered rusty patched bumble bee has shrunk by 90% in the past 20 years, yet the beneficial, fuzzy native… 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

• Land Care Report: Seed Collection Bolsters Restorations January 6, 2022

  Invasive species management, tree and brush removal, and prescribed fire are three major components of our restoration work at the Arboretum, and so I’ve written… 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

• 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

• 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

• Gardening with Native Plants: Garden Winter January 28, 2021

  February’s cold and snows limit garden work but allow for interesting winter observations and garden planning. Animal activity is legible in the snow, rewritten after… Read more