The Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary opened on April 15.
This is the 118th season at Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden Take a walk and enjoy spring as it unfolds in this special, historic native plant botanic garden. In early 1907, Eloise Butler, a retired botany teacher, along with others, petitioned the park board for space to establish a botanical garden. The request was granted and three acres of bog, meadow and hillside were set aside for the Wild Botanical Garden, along with a modest sum for paths and fencing. The garden officially opened on April 27, 1907. Butler tended the garden as a volunteer for four years, until 1911, when she was officially named curator and offered a full-time salary. She would go on to create a magnificent space, preserving and cataloguing wild plants and offering free botany classes. In 1929, the park board named the garden in her honor. Eloise died in 1933, at the age of 81, while on her way to work. Her ashes were spread in the garden and a pin oak tree was planted in her honor.
Location: 1 Theodore Wirth Pkwy, Golden Valley MN 55422
Peak Plant Display Times
Woodland – April and May – bloodroot, wild ginger, trillium, bluebells, trout lilies.
Wetland – June and July – showy lady’s-slippers, native irises, cardinal flowers. Prairie – Mid- to Late-Summer – asters, sunflowers, blazing stars, goldenrods
Throughout – Fall – prairie grasses and autumn leaves
Garden Hours
Tuesday-Sunday 7:30 am-6 pm (Early mornings are magical!)
Closed Mondays
Thursdays open until 8 pm, April 15-August 31
Daily Tours – Tuesday-Sunday at 11am
Flower Hour tours – Thursday evenings, May 1 – August 2
Early Birders – Saturday mornings throughout the Garden season Evening Birding Strolls – Thursday evenings in May and June
https://www.friendsofeloisebutler.org/index.html