Matthaei Botanical Gardens, 1800 N. Dixboro Rd. (734) 647–7600. The gardens’ spacious conservatory has a room with tropical plants, including award-winning orchids and striking bromeliads; a central greenhouse with plants of warm-temperate climates; exhibits featuring bonsai and insectivorous plants; and a desert house with a collection of cacti and other desert plants, including several giants that make news with their rare periodic blooms. A formal bonsai garden, a rock garden, a medicinal garden, a Great Lakes Garden of native plants, a children’s garden, and wildflowers, perennials, herbs, shade-loving, and New World plants are found outside. Website lists the best times of year to see these various gardens. The surrounding 350 acres are crisscrossed by almost 3 miles of walking trails and feature mature woodlands, wetlands, several ponds, and a tallgrass prairie. Outdoor gardens and trails open daily year-round sunrise–sunset. Summer hours (Memorial Day–Labor Day) Mon.–Sat. 10 a.m.–8 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Conservatory closed on Mon. Winter hours (Labor Day–Memorial Day) Tues. 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m., Wed. 10 a.m.–8 p.m., Thurs.–Sun. 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Free admission to grounds and conservatory. Parking is free for MBGNA members, $2.20/hr., 8 a.m.–8 p.m.; $6 max per day for others. mbgna.umich.edu/matthaei-botanical-gardens V
Nichols Arboretum, 1610 Washington Hts. (734) 647–7600. One of Ann Arbor’s most popular spots for more than 100 years, this preserve (part of it owned by the city) occupies 123 acres of land rising dramatically from the Huron River. The forests of the “Arb,” crisscrossed by long, winding trails, include tree species from all over the world. Equally treasured are its prairie grasslands and peony garden, which blooms each year in early June and has over 10,000 flowers at peak bloom. Around the same time, Shakespeare in the Arb is produced in locations throughout the Arb. Free and open daily sunrise–sunset. Three entrances on Geddes, Washington Hts., and Nichols. Visitor Center open daily mid-May–Labor Day and Sat. & Sun. Labor Day–Thanksgiving. A trail map and visitor guide are also available online. Parking is available in the U-M blue lot M28 after 5 p.m.; in the U-M Hospital P2 parking structure; and on the street, though limited. mbgna.umich.edu/nichols-arboretum V
Saginaw Forest, 3900 W. Liberty. (734) 764–9316. This 80-acre woods on Liberty Rd. west of Wagner, a field research site for U-M’s School for Environment and Sustainability, consists of several forest plantations dating back to 1904 surrounding Third Sister Lake. Public use of the lake is not permitted, but the path around it is a favorite for walking dogs (on leash only), jogging, and cross-country skiing. Open to the public to walk through from dusk to dawn; parking available at 2|42 Church on Wagner. All visitors use this property at their own risk and must adhere to posted rules. seas.umich.edu/about/field-properties/saginaw-forest
