Allen Centennial Garden

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Madison, WI
Allen Centennial Garden

Public Botanic Garden open daily dawn to dusk. Admission is free, and all are welcome. Volunteerism is encouraged and welcomed.

Allen Centennial Gardens is a public garden and botanic garden that serves as an outdoor classroom for the Horticuture Department of the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The 2.5 acre garden demonstrates thousands of ornamental plants including annual flowers, perennials, tropicals and temperannuals, deciduous trees and shrubs and conifers. Landscape architecture and landscape design styles are

featured and highlighted. Allen Centennial Gardens is open from dawn to dusk at no charge to visitors 365 days a year. Allen Centennial Gardens' operational budget is 100% self-funded, including salaries. Donations are appreciated; the beauty and education we provide is based on the generosity of others. Weddings and other events may be held at the Gardens and photography permits for professional photographers are available.

05/29/2026

Fantastic weather incoming! This will be a great weekend to visit the Garden.

If you're looking for a way to work with plants or create in a beautiful space drop by for our weekend events. No pre-registration needed. These include build your own bouquet 9:00 am to 11:00 am, dyeing with indigo blue at 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, and our inaugural maker's circle from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. No pre-registration needed and available while supplies last.

Our Maker's Circle is a new meet up in the Garden and will be in the terrace seating area near our kitchen garden. Bring a craft or project to work on in the company of others. All makers welcome--basic textile supplies will be available.

05/28/2026

Look close!

Our first gazania are blooming... but only when the sun is shinning because these flowers are light sensitive.

Check them out in our containers or on the corner of Babcock and Linden. We are excited for a warm summer day when the areas are awash with these stunning blooms.

05/22/2026

Beautiful weekend incoming!

Drop by the Garden for a free stroll or visit our flower stand to build your own bouquet ($10). Flower will be flying this Saturday May 23, from 9:00 to 11:00 am.

05/15/2026

Summer events incoming! Join us this Saturday, May 16 for Build Your Own Bouquet ($10) from 9:00 to 11:00 am and a tour of the Garden ($5) from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm.

Visiting the Garden is always free!

Summer weekend mornings are among the best times to visit since campus is quiet and street parking is free and easier to find. Come explore!

05/10/2026

Congrats to all the graduates and some of the last horticulture majors! Cheers.

Thanks for an awesome event in Allen Centennial.

04/04/2026

While other flowers come earlier, and plenty more later, Hellebore is among the most arresting signs of spring. We spied these and have watched the buds uncoil into small messes of flowers among last years dead leaves.

If you're back on campus, slow down and see if you can find the dozen or so clumps scattered throughout ACG.

03/31/2026

Happy break to our at ACG and Occupy Madison! We've been doing loads of seed work. Sowing into trays, potting up, sowing into soil.

One of the coolest things we get to do is sow seed that we saved the previous year. Sometimes the results are surprising. Check out how different these 'mixed' basil seedlings are even as little baby plants!

03/19/2026

Excelling as a horticulturist means putting together hands-on experience with a firm background in scientific theory. Mason Von Borchardt will be graduating with a Horticulture degree from UW-Madison this spring but not before he has the opportunity to put both kinds of learning into practice in the Garden. After a season of careful planning and finding places to buy the necessary plants, we are looking forward to getting our hands dirty this spring with a new garden that takes advantage of a mix of sunny and shady spots near the Garden’s entrance.

You can help!
$7 buys one plant
$1000 funds the whole project

This March, our goal is to have more than 20 donors step up to support growth in the Garden. Is one of them you? Donate at https://supportuw.org/giveto/ACGspring26 by March 31.

Your donation will go twice as far with a matching grant from the Friends of Allen Centennial Garden, up to a total of $2500! Every donation counts!

03/11/2026

Every day is a little bit different in the Garden. You never know when a toad might greet you at the water spigot or you’ll spot a monarch butterfly fluttering by. This year, we are looking forward to sprinkling extra surprises throughout the Garden to help illuminate wonder and surprise. From art to plants, the goal is to inspire people to spend a few more minutes in nature each day, and we need your help.

This March, our goal is to have more than 20 donors step up to support surprises in the Garden. Is one of them you? Donate at https://supportuw.org/giveto/ACGspring26 by March 31.

Your donation will go twice as far with a matching grant from the Friends of Allen Centennial Garden, up to a total of $2500! Every donation counts!

03/02/2026

What does it take to go from a paper plan to a garden reality? Students in the Landscape Architecture program spend most of their time learning how to translate their ideas onto digital plans, but it is rare that they get to plant these ideas in real life. Over the past few months, we have worked with students to redesign our gravel garden, taking advantage of some of the plants already thriving there and adding in more to add color and inspiration. This spring, we are hoping to install the plants they have selected. We can’t wait until their plans for butterfly milkweed are a living part of our garden ecosystem!

You can help make this dream a reality.
$7 buys one plant
$250 covers all the plants for one student team

This March, our goal is to have more than 20 donors step up to support learning in the Garden. Is one of them you? Donate any amount at https://supportuw.org/giveto/ACGspring26 by March 31. This month your donation goes twice as far with a generous matching donation provided by the Friends of Allen Centennial Garden.

Address

620 Babcock Drive
Madison, WI
53706

Telephone

+16085762501

Website

http://www.allencentennialgarden.wisc.edu/

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