Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum at the Univeristy of Michigan

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Arb Parking Tip Free street parking spaces are sometimes available on Oswego St. near the Arb's Geddes Street entrance. Click here for a map.

Winter is a great time to take a stroll and appreciate the conifers along the trails at the Arb and Gardens. If you wish to avoid the chill of winter, stop into the Conservatory at the Gardens to experience the sights and smells of plants from all over the world.
Check out the bloom calendar.

Looking for a central location to hold a group meeting? How about catching up on some of your reading at a riverside bench? We have some of the University's best study spots.

The perennial garden shimmers with exuberant, color-coordinated waves of bloom from plants appropriate for our region. Visit to get ideas on what to grow at your own home that is beautiful, noninvasive, hardy, and ecologically responsible. The plants have been selected for a long season of bloom. No wonder this is a favorite garden for weddings.

German iris (Iris germanica), poppies (Papaver), and Siberian iris (Iris sibirica) show beautiful color around Memorial Day. Refreshing true blue flowers bloom most of the early summer while yellow coreopsis (Coreopsis), golden yarrow (Achillea), pink mallows (Malva) and purple phlox (Phlox) carry the bloom until autumn. The purple asters (Aster) and yellow mums (Chrysanthemum) are the season's finale.

The Perennial Garden is at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens site, and was one of the first outdoor gardens developed on the site.

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