Gardens in Madison: public gardens, community plots and free seeds

Olbrich Botanical Gardens

Olbrich Botanical Gardens, 3330 Atwood Ave. on the east side, has 16 acres of outdoor gardens and an indoor tropical conservatory. Its site says the outdoor gardens are free and open daily, year-round.

The outdoor gardens include the Royal Thai Pavilion and Garden, which Olbrich describes as the only Thai pavilion in the continental U.S. and the only one outside Thailand surrounded by a garden. You can also walk the Perennial, Sunken and Herb gardens.

The Bolz Conservatory is a 50-foot-high glass pyramid with tropical plants, a waterfall, free-flying birds, blooming orchids, banana, coffee and vanilla plants, and carnivorous plants. Olbrich says it stays between 65 and 95 degrees year-round, which makes it a good winter stop. The conservatory charges admission, but Olbrich says it is free on Wednesday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. Check Olbrich's hours and admissions page for current prices and any closures.

Olbrich asks visitors to leave pets at home; trained service animals are welcome. Its public lot has 210 spaces, including 12 accessible spaces near the main entrance.

Allen Centennial Garden

Allen Centennial Garden, 620 Babcock Dr. on the UW–Madison campus, is open to the public from dawn to dusk with free admission. The garden works with UW courses and offers class visits, and its site lists a workshop and tour schedule, summer concerts and a harvest folk festival, so check its calendar for programs.

Practical notes from the garden:

• Dogs: well-behaved dogs are welcome, on a leash and on the path.
• Parking: two-hour metered stalls on Babcock Drive (mobile pay only), or the campus ramp at Lot 36 on Observatory Drive.
• Restrooms: the garden has no public restroom, though neighboring campus buildings are open to the public. A portable restroom is in the northwest corner from mid-April through early October.

The Arboretum's gardens

The UW–Madison Arboretum, 1207 Seminole Hwy., is free to visit. Its grounds are open 4 a.m. to 10 p.m., and the Visitor Center is open 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 12:30 to 4 p.m. on weekends. Two gardens are the main draws for plant lovers:

• Longenecker Horticultural Gardens: 37 acres near the Visitor Center that the Arboretum calls Wisconsin's largest and most diverse collection of woody plants, with about 4,000 specimens of more than 2,600 kinds of trees, shrubs and vines. The lilac collection is described as the third largest public collection in the U.S., and the gardens also hold flowering crabapples, magnolias and conifers. The three-acre Viburnum Garden sits east of Nakoma Road and Manitou Way.
• Wisconsin Native Plant Garden: about four acres around the Visitor Center, designed by landscape architect Darrel Morrison, with 15 gardens showing native Wisconsin plant communities and hundreds of native species.

The Arboretum offers guided garden tours in spring, summer and fall, and free guided walks on Sunday afternoons. Its rules matter if you're used to other parks: dogs and other pets aren't allowed, bikes are limited to the paved drives, and picking or collecting plants is prohibited. Stay on trails, firelanes, lawn areas or the paved road. For trails beyond the gardens, see the hiking guide or the parks directory.

Community garden plots

Madison's community gardens are coordinated through the Gardens Network, a partnership the City of Madison describes as made up of Dane County UW–Extension, the city and Community GroundWorks. The network's site (danegardens.net) says it is run by Rooted WI, Inc., and that there are over 4,000 community garden plots on 47 acres across Dane County. The city says about half of Madison's community gardens are on city-owned land.

To find a plot:

1. Go to the Gardens Network "Find a Garden" page and search the map, or browse by region: Northside, Eastside, Southside, Westside, Isthmus or Greater Dane County.
2. Apply through the garden you pick. Each garden has its own application, and the network lists no single deadline.
3. Watch for a plot number before you start. Rooted's gardens send plot assignments before Opening Day.

Rooted runs several sites itself. Badger Rock Community Gardens serves South Side residents, and Troy Community Gardens serves Northside residents. Both require a new application each season, and Rooted says it may prioritize new gardeners who live nearest the gardens. First-year gardeners get one plot. Troy's page says plots are rented annually on a sliding scale based on income, and that missing the registration deadline puts you on a waiting list. Rooted's gardens also ask gardeners to help maintain the site through volunteer commitments. For questions about plot registration, Rooted lists gardens@rootedwi.org and (608) 240-0409.

The Gardens Network also has pages on starting a new garden and on land access for larger plots. If your own yard needs work instead, browse garden centers in the directory.

The library's seed library

Madison Public Library runs a free seed library with two giveaways a year. Native Wisconsin seeds are typically available from December to March, and garden seeds start in early March, both while supplies last. No library card is needed, and the library asks you to take only as many packets as you'll use.

Eight branches take part: Alicia Ashman, Goodman South, Hawthorne, Lakeview, Meadowridge, Monroe Street, Pinney and Sequoya. Central Library does not. In 2026 the garden seed giveaway began March 2, and the library says seeds that run out at a branch aren't restocked until the native seed giveaway in winter. Garden packets hold 10 to 15 seeds, and offerings vary by location. The native seeds are donated by Dane County Land & Water Resources and collected by Dane County Parks volunteers and Operation Fresh Start youth; the library says they're best sown in fall to midwinter and left to overwinter.

Because the native seed giveaway usually starts in December, this is the time of year to ask at your branch. See our libraries guide for the rest of the system.