Olbrich Gardens Offers a “Greener” Experience

Olbrich Botanical Gardens on Madison’s East side provides a welcome diversion from snow and ice during Wisconsin’s winter months. Olbrich is well known for their outside gardens, but in winter, visitors can enjoy the indoor Bolz Conservatory, with 10,000 square feet of display space.

The conservatory is a glass pyramid, rising to a 50 foot center, and provides a tropical paradise filled with green foliage, bright orchids and flowering plants, waterfalls and koi ponds, even free flying birds. Pathways wind throughout the space, up and over bridges, along flowing streams, and on tiered paths that allow for a view of the entire conservatory. When it’s snowing outside, it makes a spectacular indoor walk. The temperature is always kept between 65˚ and 80˚F so be sure and dress accordingly.

Bolz Conservatory has an exhibit running currently through January 5, 2009 called Yesterday’s Plants, Today’s Energy. The exhibit presents information on the formation of coal from prehistoric ferns and mosses–plants that grew 290 million years ago to provide energy for us today. The exhibit shows the many steps it takes to turn plant material into coal over millions of years. It also makes the point that these fossil fuels will not be available for tomorrow’s energy needs, and discusses the need for alternative energy sources.

It is just one of the many educational programs Olbrich Gardens offers to inform the public about environmental issues.

The Conservatory is open from 10 am to 4 pm on Monday through Saturday, and from 10 am to 5 pm on Sunday. Admission is free to Olbrich Botanical Members and children 5 and under. Free admission is also available to the general public on Wednesdays and Saturday morning from 10 am til noon. Otherwise, admission is $1. For further information, call the gardens at 608-246-4550.

Travel Green Wisconsin Green Guide Score – 83

Green Highlights and innovative practices

— Promotes sustainable Midwest gardening practices through example and education programs

— Staff Green Team tracks projects that have a positive impact on the environment

–Leaves are recycled into mulch for the gardens and public use, showcased in an educational campaign that promotes the energy-saving benefits of this practice

–Award-winning renovated Garver Cottage maintains historic architecture while applying principles of sustainable design

Website — http://www.olbrich.org/

Photo and article by Bo Mackison, who spends many wintry days snug in the tropical gardens in the Conservatory. To see more Wisconsin photos, including the Winter Gallery, visit Seeded Earth Photography. Photo “Red Coil Plant, Bolz Conservatory” © 2008 all rights reserved.

Heirloom Gardening at Old World Wisconsin

I love gardens. All kinds of gardens. Flower gardens, community gardens, butterfly gardens. And a recent visit to Old World Wisconsin near Eagle, Wisconsin sparked an interest in yet another type of garden – the heirloom garden.

Old World Wisconsin , one of the ten Wisconsin Historical Society’s sites throughout the state, sprawls on nearly 600 acres of rolling countryside in the Kettle Moraine area, about 35 miles southwest of Milwaukee and 55 miles east of Madison. It features a slice of life out-of-doors museum re-creation with working farms and settlements established by immigrants to Wisconsin in the mid- to late-1800s.

It was a perfect summer’s day when I went exploring last week-end. Old World is a great place to go when you want to both get in a little outdoor exercise and visit a museum. Though there is tram service to the various areas, I chose to walk the paths and managed to add nearly 4 miles to my pocket pedometer. And I discovered my favorite parts were outside, too – the thirteen heirloom gardens that sported colorful flowers and vegetables, and looked like paintings right out of the 19th Century. All of the gardens in the museum are typical of those found in the historical period from the 1850s through the 1890s.

Heirloom gardens use only plants that are cultivars that were commonly grown before large scale agricultural practices were introduced. Most vegetable plants have kept their traits through open-pollination and fruits are propagated by grafts and cuttings. Often these varieties have become less prevalent because plants are now chosen for their consistency, their hardiness to tolerate shipping and storage, and their tolerance to drought or pests. Though necessary qualities, these plants may not be the best nutritionally or taste the finest.

In the last decade, the heirloom gardening movement has been increasing. The gardens at Old World Wisconsin provide some mighty incentive. The vegetables and fruits I sampled tasted great and the gardening techniques were quaintly fascinating.

— Bo Mackison is a Madison area photographer and writer who has always loved history and gardening, and now loves historical heirloom gardens, too. Visit her galleries at Seeded Earth Photography to see more Wisconsin photos.

Taliesin Gardens and Asian Sculptures

Asian Sculpture in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Garden

Wright’s Crane Sculpture from Japan in Taliesin’s Garden

Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home and Studio in Spring Green, Wiscosnin, has several gardens also designed by Wright. (If you know much about FLW, perhaps you know that Wright designed everything connected with his homes. He was not only the architect, he also designed the furniture, rugs, and everyday house implements from dishes to lamps. And some of his clients even allowed him to design their clothing, including magnificent dresses, so that they would FIT into his vision of his perfect environment. (Susan Dana from Springfield IL was his favorite client because she agreed to any of his ideas AND funded them promptly!) Hmm. Maybe Frank was a bit of a control freak in addition to all his creativity and genius.

Anyway, Wright brought thousands of art objects and artifacts from Asia to the US, most notably from Japan, and used them throughout many of his homes, in his designs and in his gardens. These two cranes are in the garden near his bedroom in Taliesin. He could open his bedroom door which was set into a wall of framed windows, take a dip in his 8 foot deep plunge pool, and then wander a bit through his flowers and sculptures.

It really would have been an insomniac’s solution – a dip in a cool pool and then a midnight stroll in the gardens. I’d much prefer that option to the one I take nearly every night when I find myself awake, lying awake and watching the ceiling.

Do you think FLW would mind a new occupant?

Monona Terrace’s Roof Garden

summer spectacle of flowers

Nearly everyone in Madison can identify the Monona Terrace Convention Center, a beauty of a building designed by notable architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and located downtown on the shore of Lake Monona. But not everyone knows there is a remarkable garden with citizen access on its roof.

The William T. Evjue Rooftop Garden is currently ablaze with prairie-style flowers in the planters and plenty of space to enjoy the panoramic views. To the south is Lake Monona with the city of Monona peeking from the far shoreline. To the north are awesome views of the State Capitol Building, many downtown buildings including the Madison Club and the Hilton pictured here. The near east and near west sides of Madison are also visible.

If you have a camera, be sure to come visit just after sunset. You can take a photograph of the Capitol “springing” from the roof’s fountain. See the photo Capitol as Night Falls for an idea of what you might shoot.

The rooftop gardens are open Sunday through Thursday from 8 am to 10 pm, and Friday and Saturday from 8 am to midnight. For further information, call (608) 261-4000.

— Bo Mackison is a Madison writer and photographer who loves finding fun places to enjoy nature and take photographs. See her photo gallery at Seeded Earth Photography.