Nearly everyone on campus is familiar with the eye-catching begonia W at the southern edge of the Humanities Building, or the red-and-yellow tulips that dot Bascom Hill. But there are other places on or near campus where you can bask in blooms this spring.
UW–Madison’s greenhouse team works with the Division of Facilities Planning and Management’s Physical Plant to grow more than 30,000 annuals in the greenhouses hidden behind King Hall. Together, they blanket the campus with begonias, pansies, violas, and snapdragons in the spring and assorted bulbs and mums in the fall.
These blooms are more than just beautiful — they are functional as well. Along with a diverse selection of trees and shrubs, these flowering annuals (as well as many perennials) not only enhance campus’s aesthetic appeal but also support ongoing biodiversity efforts and pollinator habitats to attract and sustain bees and butterflies.
Here are some of the top springtime flower and blossom locations on or near campus:
- Muir Woods is home to springtime ephemerals — flowers that prosper and blossom before trees shade them for the summer — such as trout lily, toothwort, wild ginger, and Solomon’s seal.
- Allen Centennial Garden bursts with springtime crocuses, snow drops, daffodils, redbuds, tulips, and more.
- The Lakeshore Nature Preserve and Picnic Point are home to native spring wildflowers such as trout lily and Virginia bluebells.
- UW–Madison Arboretum features 35 acres of flowering trees such as cherries, magnolias, lilacs, and crabapples, as well as woodland wildflowers like hepatica and troutflower. Check the Arboretum Explorer web page to see what is in bloom and when.
- Stroll through the four-acre demonstration plots behind the West Madison Agricultural Research Station to find hundreds of varieties of flowers, herbs, vegetables, and fruits.
Campus also offers opportunities to get your hands dirty and learn about gardening best practices. Both Allen Centennial Gardens and the UW Arboretum have volunteer programs that can immerse you in the beauty of springtime blooms. Or participate in the free, family-friendly UW Family Gardening Day held across multiple campus locations on Saturday, May 2, which features a variety of displays and demonstrations, including hands-on activities with seeds, plants, and soil.
