Although Go Public Gardens is a year-round initiative of the American Public Gardens Association, Go Public Gardens Days is celebrated every spring in mid-May. This year Monk Botanical Gardens is bringing you a week full of events to get into the Gardens and celebrate the Gardens and spring. Each of these events is free and open to everyone!
Go Public Gardens Days is May 10-19, and you can celebrate any day of the week during our open hours (8 am-6 pm) by picking up a scavenger hunt guide inside the front gate. This special scavenger hunt will only be available this week and has two options – a no-nature scavenger hunt (look for things that are out of place in the Gardens) and a nature scavenger hunt. These will get you adventuring through the Gardens looking for features and items with a new inquisitive eye!
Sunday, May 12, is Mother’s Day (don’t forget!), and a great addition to your day of celebrating Mom is to take her for a walk in the Gardens or bring your picnic to the Gardens for lunch!
May is also a great time to see some of the unassuming ephemeral spring flowers in bloom, and we’ll have a guided Ephemeral Flower Walk at 12 pm and 5:30 pm on Monday, May 13. This walk will have you looking down low for the little blooms of wild ginger and learning where Bloodroot gets its name.
Coffee and Cultivating kicks off at 9 am on Tuesday, May 14, with an opportunity to come on your own or with friends to learn about volunteering, get your hands in the dirt if you’d like, or simply come for coffee and conversation with others in a beautiful space. Coffee is provided!
The final event of the week is a Garden Improvements Tour on Wednesday, May 15, at 12 pm, led by our Facilities & Grounds Director. This tour will give you the inside scoop on what’s coming to the Gardens this spring and summer and the changes you might see in the works. You’ll get the details on projects big and small, like seeing the hobbit house, shipwreck, and other unique features in Sara’s Storybook Garden, and the smaller things like improvements to irrigation that keep the Gardens growing!
For each of the events this week, please check out our website for even more details and registration. All events this week are free, but registration is appreciated.
Even if none of these are piquing your interest, visit the Gardens during Go Public Gardens Days and enjoy yourself in Wausau’s Happy Place in your own way. The Gardens is open daily 8 am to 6 pm, and we’d love to see you!
Written by Program Director, Elise Schuler
