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Garden Bucket List: Olbricht Botanical Gardens

Maria (Angie) B.

A couple of months ago, I got to check off one of my gardening/horticulture bucket list items— visiting the Olbricht Botanical Gardens in Madison, WI.

I first learned about this garden a couple of years ago when the Garden Bloggers Fling was scheduled to take place in Madison. Sadly the pandemic happened and that trip was put on hold, and the following year, when it was brought back, I was not able to make it. But thankfully, with it being only a few hours from where I live, I had the opportunity to visit, and it was fabulous.

The trip to Madison was to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary, and we planned it so we could also attend the CrossFit Games, which happened that same weekend. First off, Madison was a lovely city and I foresee coming back soon because I just loved it. From the people, to the food and places to visit. It was just so pretty and fun too! And if there was one place that was a must for me to visit, it was this botanical garden. And it did not dissapoint.

Olbrich Botanical Gardens is a 16 acre outdoor botanical garden and 10,000-square-foot conservatory. Founded in 1952 and named for its founder, Michael Olbrich, the gardens are owned and operated jointly by the City of Madison Parks and the non-profit Olbrich Botanical Society.

My favorite thing about this venue is that it is broken into separate and distinctive gardens. I could write a separate post for each of the gardens, but for this post, I am going to focus on the ones I loved the most. They are all beautiful, but some just spoke to me due to their function or design. Also, in this post I will not be talking about the gorgeous Conservatory— that deserves its own separate post.

As I mentioned, there are many garden areas within Olbrich, but the following, are some of my favorites.

Moonlight Meadow

I have never met a monochromatic garden that I did not love, and this one was no exception. This prairie style meadow is a gorgeous grouping of white flower perennials, grasses, and native sedges. And it all combined beautifully not only to give the garden a light and airy feeling, but it serves as a beautiful background for the striking stacked fieldstone obelisk that is the center garden art feature. I love this so much that are considering building one in my garden.

Herb Garden

The Herb Garden is made up of a series of smaller gardens showing how relevant herb gardens continue to be. As someone who loves structure, I loved the use of hedges to separate the smaller gardens. Per the Olbricht Garden website, “specialty gardens within the Herb Garden include the English Courtyard, Tea, Touch and Smell, Knot, Sage and Thyme, Medicinal, Dye, Kitchen, and Sinister Gardens.” This is the garden I spent the most time because there was so much to see, plus I am a big fan of herb gardens.

The patina on this water fountain is beautiful.

Tower Garden

I think this was my second favorite garden room. A beautiful tower welcomes visitors before entering the most beautiful garden that reminded me of Italy. In the garden you will find various trees, shrubs, and vines, flowering perennials, hardy shrub, climbing roses, tropical plants, grasses, and beautiful foliage. And pulling it all together are the beautiful native limestone fountains. It is a beautiful space that invites you to stop and rest.

Prairie Dropseed Meadow

As I have grown older, I have come to appreciate the planning that goes into creating a space that looks “natural” and low maintenance. But what I truly love about these gardens is that it gives gardeners alternatives to having lawn. And after a summer drought, I am thinking more and more about this as an alternative. Per the website, this garden fatures “native Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis) and ephemeral spring wildflowers, [giving] this rolling meadow pairs plenty of visual interest with a low maintenance alternative to turfgrass.”

Royal Thai Pavilion and Garden

I think the piece de resistance in this botanical garden has to be the Olbrich’s Thai Garden. With its stunning Royal Thai Pavilion, a gift from the government of Thailand and the Thai Chapter of the University of Wisconsin Alumni Association, it is a showstopper. Fun fact— this pavilion is the only one in the continental United States, and the only one outside of Thailand surrounded by a garden.

Sunken Garden

As you make your way back towards the main building of the garden, you go past the Sunken Gardens— Olbricht’s oldest garden. The rectangular symmetry of it, just spoke to me (it’s my perfectionist). This garden has a two-foot drop from the edge of the garden, hence the name. This garden is very formal in the English-style tradition. Again, be still my heart and those beautiful shrub hedges that border the reflecting pool against the backdrop of Lake Monoma. Just so delightful. I can just imagine a beautiful wedding or gala in this spot.

Olbricht Botanical Gardens was everything I expected and more. And I have not even covered the conservatory. I cannot wait to come back and visit. Definitely should be on any gardener’s bucket list.

Have you visited this botanical garden?

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