Wednesday, February 21, 2024

The Hidden Gardens of Madison Wisconsin

Two weeks ago, in THIS POST I shared that for our anniversary we went to Madison, Wisconsin for the weekend.  In that post, I only showed the Olbrich Botanical Gardens because I had so many photos it was already too long for most readers.  We did however, visit three other smaller gardens in the city of Madison that I wanted to talk about; so this week's travel post will show the rest of the garden hopping we did in Madison Wisconsin.

Period Garden Park


Period Garden park is a small garden open to the public in downtown Madison.  It was so hard for us to find because it's not that visible from the street. Even with GPS we couldn't see it from our vehicle.  We finally decided to park the car and get out and walk and it was then we discovered "the park" was actually the front lawn of an old home.  In 1972 the owner of the property wanted to build an apartment complex on the lot, but a group of private citizens felt it would have ruined the aesthetics of the Victorian neighborhood so they purchased the property and turned it into a public park/garden.  I didn't take any photos except the one above as it was so small (.235 acres) but I thought it was cool that a group of citizens and volunteers have purchased the property to keep the historic significance and also made it accessible to everyone to enjoy.

You can see more photos of Period Garden Park HERE.

University of Wisconsin - Madison Botany Garden


Next we went to the University of Wisconsin - Madison campus to enjoy their Botany Garden.  A pond filled with koi and a pretty gazebo was its star attraction.


Allen Centennial Garden


Our last stop was the Allen Centennial Garden, and this garden is really worth the stop if you're ever in the Madison area.



This garden is also free and open to the public from dawn to dusk for everyone to enjoy. 

According to its website:  

"Allen Centennial Garden is the artful living laboratory and public botanical garden of the Horticulture Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Garden serves as an outdoor classroom for UW-Madison students and the surrounding communities, providing meaningful learning opportunities for visitors of all ages."


This beautiful garden is the backyard of another historic home.  The home isn't occupied now, but it once served as the Agricultural Dean's Residence.  The ground breaking of the garden was in 1985.  The garden is two and half acres.



There is lots of architectural interest in the garden such as the gazebo above and the stunning red bridge below.  

There are six different gardens at the Allen Centennial Garden:  Japanese/Cottage Garden, New American Garden, French & Italian Garden, English Garden, Rock Garden, and a Woodland Garden.


It seemed odd to see modern university buildings in the background of the garden.  It's like a small spot of Eden in the midst of an urban jungle.


The pond was filled with lily pads and koi.  


I just loved the red bridge.  The color really popped in the sea of green.  



The house was closed up tight when we were there.  I have no idea if the home is ever open for tours, but I would have loved to have seen the inside.


This is the front of the house and what it would like from the street if you were just pulling up in your car.



There are so many meandering paths leading to different styles of gardens.  This inviting path pictured below led to the shade garden on the side of the house.  I gathered lots of ideas for my home garden.  I loved the idea of creating lots of different styles of garden in your own yard while considering all the different ecoclimates one could have in a large space.  My yard for example has hot dry spots but also moist cool areas.  Different types of gardens could be created that thrive in those areas of my yard.




There were multiple gazebos and spots to sit and just enjoy the view.


The area in the front of the house opposite of the shade garden was very sunny so a nice circular front lawn was put in bordered by sun perennials.



There were even gardens up against the foundation of the house.



We really enjoyed finding and exploring all the hidden gardens of Madison Wisconsin.  It was like being on an adventurous quest!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

 

37 comments:

  1. These gardens are all so beautiful! You really captured some of their beauty with your amazing photos! Thanks for sharing! I will have to remember these spots if we are ever in Madison!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. Yes, definitely check them out, especially the Allen Centennial Garden.

      Delete
  2. Amazing, this reminds me of the Sunken Garden, in Victoria, BC Canada.
    I visited you via My Corner of the World
    My links: 35. I hope you will join us this week at Wed-Sat at #WordlessWednesday (words welcome) https:// esmesalon. com / tag / wordlesswednesday/ See you soon

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by. I'll be popping by your blog soon.

      Delete
  3. All three of those look so special in their own way but that last one is really impressive. I love that pop of red.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's amazing how a small group of citizens and volunteers came together to preserve the historic significance of the Period Garden park and make it accessible to everyone.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! I thought the same thing. They all worked together for the common good. How often do you see that?

      Delete
  5. This botanic garden looks amazing! Love all this greenery and your cute look! If I get up to Madison again, I will definitely check this place out!

    https://www.kathrineeldridge.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love gardens with water features. And especially Japanese gardens.

    ReplyDelete
  7. this brisk February morning is the perfect time to come visit you here, Amy!

    ReplyDelete
  8. A lovely garden! Must be a joy to walk there.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What an awesome trip and especially love the Koi
    Thanks so much for participating and sharing at #15 InLinkz #WordlessWednesday (Words also welcome). See you again next week!

    ReplyDelete
  10. What beautiful gardens. Thanks for sharing them.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Awesome pictures and place. Thanks for sharing them at SSPS#299. My shares this time are #58 through 62. Have a fabulous week and be well. Best regards, Nancy Andres @ Colors 4 Health

    ReplyDelete
  12. Such lovely gardens. That house looks very interesting, too! Thanks for sharing this post at the Will Blog for Comments #27 linkup. Hope to see you next time, too. Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I wished I could have gotten inside the house but it is closed for renovation. Another time maybe.

      Delete
  13. They all look so beautiful and love the fountain on the first one you shared. How wonderful that a group of volunteers saved the home from being turned into appartments!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I thought that was so cool reading that, and it's amazing what people can do when they work together.

      Delete
  14. Such beautiful gardens! Amy, your photos are truly captivating. Thank you for sharing them with us at The Crazy Little Lovebirds link party #26.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Your photos are stunning! It seems they painted the red bridge to perfectly match your outfit! ;-) Thank you for sharing this post at You're the Star Blog Hop! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures & Old Rock Farmhouse

    ReplyDelete
  16. Stopping by again to let you know that this post was one of the most popular at the Will Blog for Comments #27 linkup! Congratulations! It will be in the spotlight all next week, starting today. You're welcome to save the "This Blog Post Was a Featured Favorite" image there to share with your readers here, if you like. Have a great weekend. Hope to see you next week for linkup #28.

    ReplyDelete
  17. What a beautiful walk and gardens! Thank you for sharing with us at SSPS!

    ReplyDelete
  18. What a lovely place , I loved every bit of the garden of Madison. Thanks for sharing with Garden Affair.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for leaving a comment, I love feedback from my readers; but please don't include a hyperlink in the comments or I will have to delete it. You may include the name of your blog. If you have a blog, I always return the love by visiting within a week whoever leaves a comment.