Flower Power

As summer begins to draw to a close, the state’s botanical gardens are in the final stages of full bloom. We teamed with Travel Wisconsin to dig up some suggestions for weekend garden touring trips around Wisconsin. 

Eastern Wisconsin 

• Sturgeon Bay: The Garden Door at the UW’s Peninsular Agricultural Research Station is designed and maintained by members of the Door County Master Gardeners Association and includes a fairy garden, double kaleidoscope, pond, pollinator garden, and more. dcmga.org/the-garden-door.html

• Green Bay: Spread over 47 acres, the Green Bay Botanical Gardens house 65,000 plants from Wisconsin and around the world, with frequent activities and events scheduled. gbbg.org

• Green Bay: Circling the UW-Green Bay campus, the Cofrin Memorial Arboretum has six miles of trails through native forests, fields, ponds and creeks. uwgb.edu/cofrin-memorial-arboretum

• Manitowoc: Founded in 1934 by a diehard gardener, the six-acre West Foundation garden features a variety of themes: a pond garden, a sunken garden, red and white annuals, rose garden, a “Mae West” garden and various path gardens. westfoundation.us

• Sheboygan: The charming Bookworm Gardens feature more than 70 different gardens based on children’s literature. bookwormgardens.org

• Sheboygan: The John Michael Kohler Arts Center boasts expansive, peaceful gardens throughout the grounds. jmkac.org

• Appleton: Located in Appleton Memorial Park and open year-round, the Scheig Center has a variety of gardens: butterfly, roses, wildflowers, native roses and a fragrance garden. appletonparkandrec.org/parks-pavilions-trails/scheig-center-gardens

• Oshkosh: The Paine Arts Center museum and historical grounds features 20 gardens over its three-acre grounds, including a rose garden and several “outdoor rooms” from the intimate for the grand (including one modeled after King Henry VIII’s Hampton Court Palace). thepaine.org

Western Wisconsin

• La Crosse: The Kinstone Megalithic Garden is a 30-acre spread with stone sculpture, natural buildings, restored native prairie, oak savanna and spectacular views over the Mississippi River. kinstonecircle.com

• La Crosse: The Riverside Park’s International Friendship Gardens, tended by master gardeners, honor La Crosse’s sister-city relationships with communities in China, Germany, France, Russia, Norway, Ireland and Cameroon. riversidegardens.org

• Prairie du Chien: The 10-acre St. Feriole Island Memorial Gardens include various gardens, including formal gardens, a patio garden, a shade garden, and perennials and annuals. cityofpdc.com/2017/08/09/st-feriole-island-memorial-gardens

Northern Wisconsin

• Bayfield: Even if you missed the big Bayfield in Bloom event in June, the town showcases several gardens open to the public. Find the map and more information at bayfield.org/festivals-events/bayfield-in-bloom/bayfield-garden-tour

• Spooner: The one-acre Spooner Agriculture Research Garden has received national recognition for its landscape design and its butterly and pollinator gardens. spooner.ars.wisc.edu

• Marshfield: The former home of Gov. William Upham, the Upham Mansion, has 30 rose plants, some of which date back to the year 200, and an arbor that complements the Victorian architecture. uphammansion.com

• Rudolph: The Rudolph Grotto Gardens showcase five acres of flowers, plants, trees, shrine areas, and even a small cave. rudolphgrotto.org

• Wausau: The 21-acre Monk Botanical Gardens showcases native flowers and plants. monkgardens.org

Closer To Home

• Janesville: Open April through Labor Day, the Rotary Gardens span 20 acres and showcase 26 different garden styles and 4,000 varieties of plants. Themed gardens include Japanese, Scottish, French Formal, Italian and English Cottage. rotarybotanicalgardens.org

• Madison: The 16-acre Olbrich Gardens houses a dazzling array of flowers and plants from different worldwide habitats. Specialty gardens, a reflecting pool, a two-acre rose garden and tower, an indoor conservancy and a Thai pavilion are some of the highlights. olbrich.org

• Madison: The Allen Centennial Gardens on the UW-Madison campus is the “living laboratory” and public botanical garden of the Horticulture Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. allencentennialgarden.wisc.edu

• Madison: Though more of a UW botany research center, the UW Arboretum includes the oldest and most varied collection of restored ecological communities in the world on 1,260 acres, including tallgrass prairies, savannas, several forest types, wetlands, flowering trees, shrubs and a world-famous lilac collection. uwarboretum.org

• Kenosha: The Hawthorn Hollow Nature Sanctuary and Arboretum has 12 acres and 2.5 miles of trails through woods, gardens and prairies of the Pike River Valley. hawthornhollow.org

• Kenosha: The Lincoln Flower Garden has a variety of annuals and a sunken garden. visitkenosha.com/listing/lincoln-park/337 

• Hales Corners: With 12 formal gardens — including roses, peonies, daylilies and more — the historic Boerner Botanical Gardens is one of Milwaukee’s highlights. county.milwaukee.gov/EN/Parks/Explore/Boerner-Botanical-Gardens

• Wauwatosa: The Kneeland-Walker Queen Anne home, now maintained by the Wauwatosa Historical Society, features 1.5 acres of Victorian gardens. wauwatosahistoricalsociety.org/kneeland-walker-house-grounds

• Milwaukee: C’mon, any garden-themed tour has to include a stop at the Mitchell Park Domes. county.milwaukee.gov/EN/Parks/Explore/The-Domes

• Milwaukee: The Sangerhouse Gardens and its collection of more than 400 plants, a water garden, and themed English and Mediterranean gardens are part of the Sangerhouse bed & breakfast and are normally open for visiting on weekends. sangerhousegardens.com MKE