Enjoyable Nature Environment

The Olbrich Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin features 16 acres of grounds filled with both indoor and outdoor gardens. The space is ideal for a peaceful stroll, and educational trip, or a tour of the seasonal plant life. The outdoor area features two unique features, the Thai Pavilion and the Garden. The Thai Pavilion is the only one of its kind in the United States. In the Garden are roses, hardy shrubs, and a variety of perennials. There is also a Sunken Garden and an Herb Garden. The outdoor area is open on a daily basis, all year long.

The indoor area of Olbrich features The Bolz Conservatory, a 50-foot glass pyramid filled with sun, tropical plants, birds, orchids, and a rushing waterfall. You will be able to view traditional tropical plants including bananas, coffee, and vanilla. There are also carnivorous plants. The temperature range in the Conservatory ranges from 65 to 95 degrees, so during the dead of the bitter Wisconsin winter, you can visit the pyramid to warm up and enjoy the greenery. Annually between July and August families of butterflies emerge and the Conservatory is filled with the flutter of their colorful wings.

The Gardens are a unique place to host an event. They sponsor events such as the Blooming Butterflies, Concerts in the Gardens, and Olbrich's Holiday Express. The Madison community hosts a variety of meeting groups and community garden club meetings at the garden. There are also botanically themed art exhibits and fundraising events that happen throughout the year.

Olbrich is a popular venue for Madison weddings, retirement parties, reunions, birthday parties, and other private celebrations. There are three rooms inside the center, and areas that can be set up outdoors, weather permitting. The fee of the event is determined by room choose and the length of the event. Area caterers can provide food service and table and chair set-up is available through arrangement with the Garden.

A popular feature of the Gardens are their guided group tours. This gives visitors a chance to peruse the garden with the assistance of an educated employee. The tours are held regardless of the weather, unless there is lightning. Tours vary based on the season and offer an inside view of the Conservatory and outdoor gardens. The outdoor tour is approximately 45 minutes long, and covers the entire 16 -acre area.

Educators and curious gardeners will enjoy the use of the Schumacher Horticultural Library. The library features a variety of general gardening reference materials and is open from 10 am until 4:00 pm daily. Gardening books include nearly 3,500 volumes on home gardening in the Midwest, as well as rain forest literature, landscape design, herbs, shrubs, and fruit trees. There is also a children's book collection intended to ignite a love of nature a gardening in Olbrich's youngest visitors. For an escape from the Wisconsin winter, or a big dose of flora and fauna during the warmest of the summer days, visit the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison.