Welcome

to Matthaei-Nichols

Who We Are

We are one organization with two locations at the University of Michigan. Our mission is to promote environmental enjoyment, stewardship, and sustainability through education, research, and interaction with the natural world.

Matthaei Botanical Gardens

Nichols Arboretum

Please visit the peony garden online this year (not in person!)

What’s in Bloom at Matthaei-Nichols

Something is blooming or growing throughout the year at the Arb and Gardens. Click here to view our galleries.

Data Resources

Interactive Maps

Matthaei Botanical Gardens Trails

Matthaei Botanical Gardens Display Gardens

Earth Words (our blog)

Jun 4, 2020

Invasive of the Week: Dame’s Rocket

Invasive of the Week: Dame’s rocket, Hesperis matronalisEditor’s note: Like many organizations, our staff are doing work outside of normal job tasks--literally. When non-horticulture staff began work to help maintain our outdoor spaces, field...

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May 28, 2020

Invasive of the Week: Creeping bellflower (Campanula rapunculoides)

By Katie StannardWe wanted to share a changing of the guard: Emily Lilla (invasives guru, founder of this series and all-around terrific natural areas technician) is off to grad school with our best wishes and gratitude for her work at Matthaei-Nichols....

May 27, 2020

Notes from a Plague Year for Shakespeare in the Arb 2020

Director Kate Mendeloff (center) during the 2018 production of Romeo and Juliet. Photo by Daryl Marshke, Michigan Photography. In this uncertain time, don’t you long to watch an Arb sunset as you listen to Elizabethan music and are drawn into another...

May 22, 2020

Mnomen – Wild Rice Restoration Assessment Funded at Matthaei-Nichols

Winnowing the mnomen. Photo credit: Todd Marsee, Michigan Sea Grant. Southeastern Michigan was known for its productive Mnomen / wild rice beds (also spelled Manoomin: both mean ‘the good berry’) into the early 20th century. These beds increasingly...

May 22, 2020

What’s in Bloom at Matthaei-Nichols May 22

What’s in Bloom: DogwoodFrom Matthaei-Nichols Woody Plants and Trails Technician Chad Machinski: Cornus florida, also known as flowering dogwood, is going off right now! This small native tree has been around the nursery trade for some time due to its many...

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@matthaeinichols / #matthaei / #nicholsarboretum / #a2outside

The Joy of Peonies We believe nature can heal. In $The Joy of Peonies We believe nature can heal. In this fractured time, nature’s signposts remind us to reflect and restore through the ordinary yet truly extraordinary hallmarks of the season, like our beloved peony. As we embark on virtual visits to the Nichols Arboretum Peony Garden this year, please join us for #joyofpeonies, our community appreciation for all things peony-related! Think of #joyofpeonies as a virtual peony potluck party in which invited guests (=YOU!) contribute peony photos or stories to share, neighbor to neighbor. We’ll then post them on our social media and enews. We invite you to submit photos in bud, bloom or bouquet, from your own peony or garden photos, historical photos, grad photos, weddings, fashion, peony art, family peonies handed down over generations, anything! We also welcome brief photo captions or stories (in 55 words or less). We’re not seeking perfect peony photos or prose: we hope submissions simply touch on the joy of peonies for you. Like any good potluck, variety is the spice of life! We’ll share samples of your #joyofpeonies contributions on Instagram and Facebook weekly through July 2. For the grand finale, submissions will be compiled into a gorgeous tapestry of photos and posted in July. How: Email your photo(s) with a brief caption and/or prose (55 words or less) that speaks to your joy of peonies to: mbgna-peonygarden@umich.edu; or share your #joyofpeonies by posting them to our Facebook comments (@mbgna) with a description. Bonus! On July 2, we’ll randomly draw names of 10 participants who’ll receive a free copy of our book “Passion for Peonies,” courtesy of University of Michigan Press Great Lakes . To kick off #joyofpeonies, Angela Jordan writes in our first entry: “My mom--Pat Jordan--is 75 and lives in southern Indiana. She was hoping to visit the garden for the first time this year to see the peonies—it's her favorite flower. However, because of the pandemic, she won’t be going. These are photos of the peonies in her garden taken since 2011.” #joyofpeonies #matthaeinichols #umichnature #umich Photos credit: All photos courtesy of Pat Jordan.$