Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum (MBGNA) was a Supporter of this year’s Native Plant Expo & Marketplace. MBGNA has two incredible locations for visitors to experience a wonderful diversity of Michigan and Great Lakes habitats filled with all kinds of native plants. Both properties are carefully planted and maintained in order to support biodiversity and encourage visitors to experience the wonders of these unique natural areas.
Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum (MBGNA) is a dedicated supporter of native plants and biodiversity in our community. We are thrilled to celebrate their sponsorship of this year’s Native Plant Expo & Marketplace. The gardens and arboretum are open to visitors year-round and offer an incredible opportunity for everyone to experience native landscapes and learn more about the diverse and expansive flora and fauna that make up the many natural communities of Southeast Michigan and the Great Lakes Region.
Native plants figure prominently into the MBGNA’s mission as does natural area stewardship. They strive to promote environmental enjoyment, stewardship, and sustainability through interaction with the natural world. This is deeply connected to the work of the Native Plant Expo & Marketplace. Part of this work is helping residents get excited about the plants in their yards, neighborhoods, and landscapes as well as learn more about how they can help support biodiversity.
Many people enjoy being outdoors in nature, and we believe the more people know about the environment the more they will care about it. The more MBGNA can help everyone understand the native plants in their area, the more they will care about protecting them.
Everyone is welcome at the Arboretum and Gardens, and both locations contain an incredible diversity of native plants and animals. Michigan is home to a wonderfully diverse and rich flora and fauna with over 1800 native plant species. Plants are the base of the food chain, and they support all the other species. This means in order to support the whole network of biodiversity that supports all of life, we need to save plants. In order to do that, everyone’s help is needed.
MBGNA uses native plants throughout the landscaping on both properties. Most of what you see in the display gardens and many of the plantings around the buildings are dominated by native plants, in addition to cultivars and non-natives that have been shown not to spread.
One of the goals of the native plantings is to help everyone understand that they can chose native plants to put in their yards. Seeing that the natives are beautiful and that they support a vast diversity of animal species can help visitors learn about them and get excited about enriching the spaces they manage. It is important that everyone understands that they can make a difference everyday with what they chose to plant in their yards.
As visitors walk through the grounds, what they see is primarily native plants. Because of this, both sites are also a great location to see insects, including a hugely diverse group of pollinators. As native plants are grown and supported, native insect populations are supported. This native insect community in turn returns that support to the plants and also the bird communities.
Many of us find watching birds or other animals in our yard brings us great joy. Planting native plants will bring more of them! The vast majority of North American birds rely on insects to raise their young. This means native insects are a critical food source, and these insects need native plants.
Residents can support those beneficial insects and the birds that depend on them by planting native wildflowers, trees, and shrubs in their yards. The more that suburban and urban areas can be filled with diverse and abundant native plants, the more we can support bird populations. Habitat loss is the number on cause of biodiversity decline across the globe, and we can make a difference by what we plant in our yards. Every native plant helps!
Homeowners and residents with yards are regularly faced with the challenge of how to manage their properties. Many people move into a home that is already landscaped without a native plant in sight. It is hard work taking out established plants or starting from scratch.
It’s okay – you don’t have to remove everything! It is completely fine to begin integrating where you can. Many natives are fairly easy to get started, and once they are established do not take as much care to keep going.
Maintenance is an important part of supporting native landscapes. While specific methods are typically less intensive than conventional gardening, maintenance remains a critical part of supporting a thriving garden or natural area.
MBGNA maintains their native gardens and natural areas with a combination of methods. Much of this important work is done by volunteers and students that help manage the properties. Weeding, removing invasive species, transplanting, seed collection and spreading, prescribed burning, and occasional watering all play a role. Emphasis is placed on paying attention to the weather in order to plant at strategic times and watering immediately afterwards to support plant establishment.
Staff and volunteers also go back in following years to reassess plantings and follow up with maintenance or replanting. Some species need disturbance to thrive, others may need a little extra care to establish and spread.
Many of these techniques can be easily learned and replicated at a smaller scale in home gardens. View opportunities to get involved and learn more here.
Another great way to learn more about establishing or expanding native plants and natural areas in your yard is by connecting with the Wild Ones Ann Arbor Chapter.
About Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum
MBGNA consists of two properties that invite visitors to experience a variety of engaging native habitats and learn more about the special ecosystem we live in.
The Nichols Arboretum is the 128-acre central park of downtown Ann Arbor that is right along the Huron River. Most of the site is managed as natural areas with beautiful trails and open areas for recreation. This includes Dow Field, which is a remnant dry-mesic prairie managed to support native species using prescribed fire. Being nestled along the Huron River and part of the Ann Arbor Greenway, the Arb plays a critical role in supporting the biodiversity of plants, insects, and birds that live in and migrate through the region.
The Matthaie Botanical Gardens is made up of a diverse landscape that includes many natural communities, outdoor garden spaces, and nearly three miles of trails and natural areas. Fleming Creek, a tributary of the Huron River, flows through the property. Today the site is used for several purposes including research, the campus farm, natural areas and trails, and as a showcase for the diversity of native plants in southeast Michigan. Many of the gardens feature native plantings and offer visitors the opportunity to enjoy their beauty and learn about ecological restoration and sound horticulture in practice.
The Great Lakes Gardens showcase native plants that occur in some of Michigan’s unique natural communities, including dunes, alvar, and prairie.
The Dunes Garden highlights plant communities that exist along the dunes of the Great Lakes shorelines (primarily Lake Michigan, Lake Superior and Lake Huron). Michigan has the largest concentration of fresh water dunes in the world, and these beautiful gardens are a great place to see these special dune plants.
The Alvar Garden celebrates the ecosystems that occurs along rocky coasts of northern Lake Huron and Lake Michigan where limestone bedrock is at the surface. This means that these plants are growing in very thin, highly alkaline soil where only certain species are able to thrive.
The Prairie Garden displays a wide variety of plants that grow in the dry to wet prairies of the Great Lakes Region. Many of these prairie species are well known and highly valued for their ability to support pollinators.
The beloved Orchid Garden is located in the wetland area of the site where individual orchids grow alongside other native plants that thrive in this moist habitat. It is difficult to source native orchid plants because you never want to dig them up in the wild. This means starting each plant from seed, which can take a long time. Some orchids will take up to 10 years to flower. Establishing and supporting these native orchids is a slow, long-term process in addition to being a horticulturally challenge. The orchids continue to teach visitors, volunteers, and staff more about their unique environmental needs, beauty, and importance.
The Oak Openings Garden features a towering Bur Oak tree and a diversity of native prairie and oak savanna plants. Oak savannas once occupied much of southern Michigan.
The Woodlands Gardens has two sections that highlight the diversity of Michigan’s forests. The drier habitat area features an Oak-Hickory Forest and its native wildflowers, shrubs, and trees. The wet area showcases a rich floodplain forest and wet forested habitats with a boardwalk that allows visitors to experience this beautiful ecosystem from within.
Photo from www.mbgna.umich.edu
Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum (MBGNA) is a dedicated supporter of native plants and biodiversity in our community. We are thrilled to celebrate their sponsorship of this year’s Native Plant Expo & Marketplace. The gardens and arboretum are open to visitors year-round and offer an incredible opportunity for everyone to experience native landscapes and learn more about the diverse and expansive flora and fauna that make up the many natural communities of Southeast Michigan and the Great Lakes Region.
Native plants figure prominently into the MBGNA’s mission as does natural area stewardship. They strive to promote environmental enjoyment, stewardship, and sustainability through interaction with the natural world. This is deeply connected to the work of the Native Plant Expo & Marketplace. Part of this work is helping residents get excited about the plants in their yards, neighborhoods, and landscapes as well as learn more about how they can help support biodiversity.
Many people enjoy being outdoors in nature, and we believe the more people know about the environment the more they will care about it. The more MBGNA can help everyone understand the native plants in their area, the more they will care about protecting them.
Everyone is welcome at the Arboretum and Gardens, and both locations contain an incredible diversity of native plants and animals. Michigan is home to a wonderfully diverse and rich flora and fauna with over 1800 native plant species. Plants are the base of the food chain, and they support all the other species. This means in order to support the whole network of biodiversity that supports all of life, we need to save plants. In order to do that, everyone’s help is needed.
MBGNA uses native plants throughout the landscaping on both properties. Most of what you see in the display gardens and many of the plantings around the buildings are dominated by native plants, in addition to cultivars and non-natives that have been shown not to spread.
One of the goals of the native plantings is to help everyone understand that they can chose native plants to put in their yards. Seeing that the natives are beautiful and that they support a vast diversity of animal species can help visitors learn about them and get excited about enriching the spaces they manage. It is important that everyone understands that they can make a difference everyday with what they chose to plant in their yards.
As visitors walk through the grounds, what they see is primarily native plants. Because of this, both sites are also a great location to see insects, including a hugely diverse group of pollinators. As native plants are grown and supported, native insect populations are supported. This native insect community in turn returns that support to the plants and also the bird communities.
Many of us find watching birds or other animals in our yard brings us great joy. Planting native plants will bring more of them! The vast majority of North American birds rely on insects to raise their young. This means native insects are a critical food source, and these insects need native plants.
Residents can support those beneficial insects and the birds that depend on them by planting native wildflowers, trees, and shrubs in their yards. The more that suburban and urban areas can be filled with diverse and abundant native plants, the more we can support bird populations. Habitat loss is the number on cause of biodiversity decline across the globe, and we can make a difference by what we plant in our yards. Every native plant helps!
Homeowners and residents with yards are regularly faced with the challenge of how to manage their properties. Many people move into a home that is already landscaped without a native plant in sight. It is hard work taking out established plants or starting from scratch.
It’s okay – you don’t have to remove everything! It is completely fine to begin integrating where you can. Many natives are fairly easy to get started, and once they are established do not take as much care to keep going.
Maintenance is an important part of supporting native landscapes. While specific methods are typically less intensive than conventional gardening, maintenance remains a critical part of supporting a thriving garden or natural area.
MBGNA maintains their native gardens and natural areas with a combination of methods. Much of this important work is done by volunteers and students that help manage the properties. Weeding, removing invasive species, transplanting, seed collection and spreading, prescribed burning, and occasional watering all play a role. Emphasis is placed on paying attention to the weather in order to plant at strategic times and watering immediately afterwards to support plant establishment.
Staff and volunteers also go back in following years to reassess plantings and follow up with maintenance or replanting. Some species need disturbance to thrive, others may need a little extra care to establish and spread.
Many of these techniques can be easily learned and replicated at a smaller scale in home gardens. View opportunities to get involved and learn more here.
Another great way to learn more about establishing or expanding native plants and natural areas in your yard is by connecting with the Wild Ones Ann Arbor Chapter.
About Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum
MBGNA consists of two properties that invite visitors to experience a variety of engaging native habitats and learn more about the special ecosystem we live in.
The Nichols Arboretum is the 128-acre central park of downtown Ann Arbor that is right along the Huron River. Most of the site is managed as natural areas with beautiful trails and open areas for recreation. This includes Dow Field, which is a remnant dry-mesic prairie managed to support native species using prescribed fire. Being nestled along the Huron River and part of the Ann Arbor Greenway, the Arb plays a critical role in supporting the biodiversity of plants, insects, and birds that live in and migrate through the region.
The Matthaie Botanical Gardens is made up of a diverse landscape that includes many natural communities, outdoor garden spaces, and nearly three miles of trails and natural areas. Fleming Creek, a tributary of the Huron River, flows through the property. Today the site is used for several purposes including research, the campus farm, natural areas and trails, and as a showcase for the diversity of native plants in southeast Michigan. Many of the gardens feature native plantings and offer visitors the opportunity to enjoy their beauty and learn about ecological restoration and sound horticulture in practice.
The Great Lakes Gardens showcase native plants that occur in some of Michigan’s unique natural communities, including dunes, alvar, and prairie.
The Dunes Garden highlights plant communities that exist along the dunes of the Great Lakes shorelines (primarily Lake Michigan, Lake Superior and Lake Huron). Michigan has the largest concentration of fresh water dunes in the world, and these beautiful gardens are a great place to see these special dune plants.
The Alvar Garden celebrates the ecosystems that occurs along rocky coasts of northern Lake Huron and Lake Michigan where limestone bedrock is at the surface. This means that these plants are growing in very thin, highly alkaline soil where only certain species are able to thrive.
The Prairie Garden displays a wide variety of plants that grow in the dry to wet prairies of the Great Lakes Region. Many of these prairie species are well known and highly valued for their ability to support pollinators.
The beloved Orchid Garden is located in the wetland area of the site where individual orchids grow alongside other native plants that thrive in this moist habitat. It is difficult to source native orchid plants because you never want to dig them up in the wild. This means starting each plant from seed, which can take a long time. Some orchids will take up to 10 years to flower. Establishing and supporting these native orchids is a slow, long-term process in addition to being a horticulturally challenge. The orchids continue to teach visitors, volunteers, and staff more about their unique environmental needs, beauty, and importance.
The Oak Openings Garden features a towering Bur Oak tree and a diversity of native prairie and oak savanna plants. Oak savannas once occupied much of southern Michigan.
The Woodlands Gardens has two sections that highlight the diversity of Michigan’s forests. The drier habitat area features an Oak-Hickory Forest and its native wildflowers, shrubs, and trees. The wet area showcases a rich floodplain forest and wet forested habitats with a boardwalk that allows visitors to experience this beautiful ecosystem from within.
Photo from www.mbgna.umich.edu