Great Lakes Garden Celebration
Join us as we celebrate 10 years of our Great Lakes Garden and honor the biodiversity and native plants of the Great Lakes region
The Great Lakes Garden at Matthaei Botanical Gardens will celebrate its 10th year in 2023! Join us throughout the summer and fall seasons for native plant and pollinator-focused events including a symposium, native plant sale, family-friendly activities, and more!
Celebrate With Us!
Matthaei Botanical Gardens
1800 N. Dixboro Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Sunday, July 30
Things With Wings A youth-centered celebration of native birds and pollinators and the ecosystems they support. Free to attend.
Friday, August 18, 2023
Native Plant Symposium A ticketed event bringing in local and national experts in the field of conservation. Themes include biodiversity and conservation, participants can learn about native plants in their own gardens and landscapes through manageable goals that support biodiversity in urban and urban settings. The event will be in person at Matthaei Botanical Gardens, and a virtual option will be available as well.
Saturday and Sunday, August 19-20, 2023
Native Plant Sale A sale of plants native to North America, many grown at Matthaei and representing plants growing in our spaces such as the Great Lakes Gardens.
Saturday, August 26, 2023
Rachel Yurkovich’s “Black Grass” Art Exhibition Opens Botanical Illustrations of native species in the Chernobyl region of Ukraine. On display through November 19th.
Friday and Saturday, October 13-14, 2023
Pumpkins, Lanterns & Leaves Celebrate the fall season in the Gaffield Children’s Garden at Matthaei Botanical Gardens. Young ones and their families can enjoy nature play in the garden, crafts, cider and donuts, our jack-o-lantern trail, a parade of lights, and more fun.
Sunday, November 12, 2023
Fall Prescribed Burn Demo Day Education and demonstrations on the ecological importance of prescribed burns in the Great Lakes area ecosystems.
Learn More
The Great Lakes Gardens celebrate our region’s natural heritage and re-create many of the special habitats found here such as dune, limestone plain, and prairie. We’ve planted the Gardens with Great Lakes endemics (those found here and nowhere else in the world), native orchids, woodland wildflowers, and many others. In 2023, we will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of this important space.
Take a Tour of the Great Lakes Garden
Join Associate Curator, Mike Kost, on a tour of the Great Lakes Garden in the video below. Want to explore more? We invite you to visit this story map of the Great Lakes Garden!