Field Trip: The Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

Many colleagues and fellow plant geeks have always been astonished when they heard that I had never been to the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden. Finally, in late May of 2008, I made the pilgrimage, and was astonished myself at why I had never been there before. This horticultural gem is hidden in Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is a mere stone's throw from a major interstate and downtown Minneapolis. I have no doubt that the countless people who drive on I-394 have no idea what lies behind the strip malls and office buildings that line the sides of that concrete ribbon.

A little park history from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board: "The 15-acre garden is the oldest public wildflower garden in the nation. Its legacy dates back to 1907 when Minneapolis botanist Eloise Butler and botany teachers successfully petitioned the Minneapolis Park Board to create a natural botanic garden to preserve native flora as the city grew. Three acres of bog, meadow and hillside were properly fenced and the Wild Botanic Garden opened April 27, 1907." http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=4&parkid=340. In the 1940s, the park was expanded to the current 15 acres.

Once in the garden, you instantly forget you are in a bustling metropolitan city. The dirt path that meanders through the garden is nearly a mile long, and features multiple interpretive stations for the guided and self-guided tours. Home to over 500 plant species, many of them personally collected, planted and tended by Ms. Butler, there is a surprise around every corner. The Garden has something new to see throughout the seasons. Oh, and the proper fence is still there.

Here are pictures of my favorite plants from my walk through the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden.

A lovely wild violet nodding near a trickling stream.

Viginia bluebells, Mertensia virginica.

American Larch (Larix laricina) just opening its soft whorls of needles.

Mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum) among Swamp Buttercup (Ranunculus hispidus). 

Wild Geranium, Geranium maculatum.

Large-flowering Trillium, Trillium grandiflorum.

Red Trillium, Trillium erecta.

I believe this is a fading Red Trillium flower.
Still pretty, though.

I still cannot figure out what this Mystery Shrub is.
Could it be an Eastern Wahoo? Euonymus atropurpureus.

Interrupted Fern, Osmunda claytoniana.

An Interrupted Fern Forest!

And there's much more where these came from! I highly recommend making your own pilgrimage to the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden this year. Not only is it a great way to escape the business of the city and lose yourself in the beauty of nature, but it's free!