The summer weekends are winding down, so I tried to squeeze in as many summer events as I could over the Labor Day weekend. Last Sunday, Eric and I decided to take a romantic, yet somewhat buggy picnic in Whitnall Park followed by a stroll around the beautiful Boerner Botanical Gardens.
The Boerner Botanical Gardens are located 15 miles from downtown Milwaukee in Whitnall Park and consist of a breathtaking 1000-acre arboretum and more than 40 acres of immaculately groomed formal gardens. The surrounding areas of Whitnall Park are a beautiful place for a scenic summer drive that is full of diversity and color.
I decided that morning, rather than spend the day plopped in an armchair watching sports on ESPN we’d escape the world of TV and potato chips to spend the late-afternoon outside in nature’s bounty. We thought about riding our bikes on the Oak Leaf Trail to Whitnall Park in Hales Corners for a picnic. But since I don’t have a basket on my bicycle yet, we decided to scrap the bike ride and just arrange our picnic, which was ill planned anyway.
Picnics seem like simple events – you get a blanket, make a sandwich or some other finger food and you are set. But in reality they actually take a fair amount of preparation.
After wondering around Whole Foods for nearly half an hour while debating what to eat, we bought our food and went to pick up the blanket from my car. We drove down the road for a few blocks but had to turn around and go back to my apartment again because we forgot the plastic-ware and paper plates. Three hours later, we finally made it to Whitnall Park and went on a mission to stakeout a spot for our picnic.
Approximately 640 acres, Whitnall Park is home to the 18-hole Whitnall Golf Course, the Wehr Nature Center that has some of the oldest prairie restorations in the country, and of course the Boerner Botanical Gardens.
After scanning the fields and shaded terrains occupied by gaggles of geese, we found a beautifully shaded area, a stones throw from the pond, were we set down the blanket. Instantly a swarm of mosquitoes rose like smoke from the ground around our blanket, so we decided to participate in a quick 400-meter dash and ran like hell before being devoured. We moved a fair distance away from the pond and chose a bench under a tree that overlooked the Root River. It wasn’t too close to the water to attract the mosquitoes, which were especially horrible as a result of those eight days of rain a few weeks ago.
While eating, we fought off curious yellow jackets and spiders that wanted to join the picnic by climbing on our legs and in my hair. As much as I try to sound tough, spiders cause me to have freakish outbursts consisting of wild thrashing and high-pitched shrieking or occasionally adolescent tantrums. I hate spiders. Hate them. Yet every time I think about it, I realize how silly it is – why are humans so afraid of stupid, little bugs?
Nevertheless, we didn’t let the creepy crawlies spoil our time; after all it wouldn’t be a
picnic without the harassment from insects. After snacking on an assortment of cheeses, crackers and bread with jams, we cleaned up our spot and walked towards the Botanical Gardens’ service building.
One of the great things about the Botanical Gardens is that even though it’s a renowned horticultural showplace, visitors don't have to be flower fanatics to enjoy the gardens.
This is because Alfred L. Boerner, the designer of the Botanical Gardens, staunchly believed a park should provide both aesthetic and educational gratification – there should be woodlands with large groves of trees with trails, open meadows and vistas, and areas of water and playing fields. Not only does Whitnall Park encompass such a selection, most of the parks in Milwaukee County boast the same. And with informational placards that offer crash courses in flower names and origins, gardeners, plant lovers and students alike can appreciate all that the Botanical Gardens offer.
The last time I was at Boerner Botanical Gardens was when I was in third or fourth grade. My class went there on a field trip while we were learning about photosynthesis and pollination, or something along those lines. I hardly remembered a thing since the marvelous flowers and tall trees meant little to me at that time. Besides, I was too busy collecting wild violets for my grandma, climbing the crabapple tree in our backyard, or building a fort in the woods behind our house to spend time studying. Sadly, the beauty of nature didn’t really occur to me until I worked in landscaping for four years. Now I take every advantage to bask in its splendor.
After paying the reasonable $4.50 admission, Eric and I began our self-guided tour through troves of gardens, paths and fountains decked out to impress. Our first stop was the Garden House that’s exterior walls and chimney were made from native fieldstone. Before leaving the Garden House we walked past the portraits of three men who I later realized deserved more than a once-over considering they were instrumental in bringing us the Botanical Gardens – Charles B. Whitnall, the father of the Milwaukee County Park System, Alfred L. Boerner, and John Voight, director of the Gardens for many, many years.
From the Garden House we walked directly into the Annual Garden. The first thing we noticed was the fountain located in the center. We stopped here to take in the view since this fountain is the focal point for the formal gardens. From here we could see the long grassy malls and floral gardens extending south and west as we anticipated the rest of our visit!
The Garden is composed primarily of annual plants and serves as the main entrance to the formal gardens. While there we saw an abundant amount of flourishing annual flowers; however, they weren’t quite as vigorous as they probably were, say, in May since they’ve been in continuous bloom all summer-long. Given that annual flowers won’t grow back, they are replanted in the early spring to make for a new and exciting change each year.
The Annual Garden is surrounded by low walls that were built from native glacial stone. There’s a gazebo to the left of the entrance and pieces of statuary such as a sundial, metal praying mantis, sculpted bench bases, and “Beasties Bloomin” painted by various artists from the Milwaukee area as well.
Next, we discovered colorful and textural tapestries that formed the Perennial Borders, which stretched along each side of the long grassy mall to the steps of the Rose Garden. The Borders played host for a variety of perennial flowers and plants such as anemone, coreopsis, lilies, delphiniums, geraniums, salvia and sedum to name a few.
As we walked along the isles I noticed that these flowers didn’t have the vigor of the annuals – perhaps this is due to their shorter bloom (seeing as perennials must save their energy to survive year to year.) Even though the irises and peonies weren’t in bloom, we admired the phlox, caught whiffs of sunflower perfume and noticed the fall chrysanthemums starting to blossom.
In addition to the phlox, sedum and mums in their glory, the summer is often known as the season of roses. June was the Rose Garden’s peak month, but we were in luck since they continue to bud and bloom until the first frost.
The roses were planted in traditional lines – more than 3,000 plants and nearly 350 varieties – with gravel isles through the garden and grass walkways along the beds. A massive stone and wood arbor framing the rose beds supported the brilliantly colored climbing roses and canopies of vines that stretched up the stone pillars. Behind the stone arbors was an awesome panorama of the meadow where we had our picnic earlier.
Additionally, there were several ornamental pools – two circular and one rectangular pool that contained water-lilies and other aquatic plants, as well as, a ton of huge koi fish that were hard to see in the brown, murky water.
Many patrons (the most I saw all day) came to admire the varieties of roses while others were brought there for the wedding that day. The Botanical Gardens are a popular place for wedding photos – the newly weds must have gotten some fantastic shots since the weather was especially gorgeous that day.
Still, my favorite was the Herb Garden that was tucked away in a corner of the formal gardens and shielded by a tall hedge. According to the website there are 12 herb beds containing over 300 varieties of herbs and approximately 7,000 plants. These herbs were rich and full, but released an aroma that was almost too overpowering. Each stem, root, leave, flower and fruit was labeled with their common name, botanical name, foreign name, and best of all, their medical, culinary, dye and scent use.
As we left the Herb Garden we headed towards the Daylily Walk. We passed hedges and rolling hills with majestic trees where we stopped to admire the pastoral view.
Then, we strolled down the curvy Daylily Walk that was still completely in bloom. The breezy day caused the daylilies to bob and nod as if greeting us as we snaked around them. Amazingly, I never noticed their vast color range – pale yellow to rich purple and red, with many hues in between – and I consider myself to know a thing or two about flowers.
Along the Walk were wooden benches where happy couples took a load off while we continued down the path to the Bog Garden. Huge skunk cabbage leaves, lush capes and willows, river birch, cedars, red dogwood, wild raspberries, and tall grasses made the Bog Garden look almost jungle-like.
Unfortunately, as we clomped along the winding wooden bridge we were forced to run the length of it since we were ambush by swarms of mosquitoes. Grrr! You just can't get away from them. It didn't help that the seeping water underneath was abundant breeding ground for those pests. I recommend that people adorn themselves with some au de OFF before visiting.
The path across from the Bog Garden leads you to an area that looks like it came right out of a fantasy novel. The Rock Garden is a woodland cavern filled with hostas, impatiens, and native wildflowers, meandering trickles of water, waterfalls and gravel pits layered with slabs of weathered limestone to make for pseudo-natural formations. I really enjoyed this part of our tour; I wanted to perch on a wedge of rock and lose myself alongside the soothing streams.
Instead we ascended stone steps to the terrace at the top of the limestone rock. From above the Rock Garden and sweeping view of the distant meadow and lagoons made for a magnificent sight beyond the Botanical Gardens.
Moving on, we walked outside of the formal gardens and along the arboretum where trees were arranged in groves according to species including oak, maple, linden, magnolia, ash and conifers. After being bitten by more mosquitoes and chasing a hawk, we came to the Trial Garden that’s located just north of the service building and near the furthest part of the parking lot.
The Trial Garden is the official test site for many plants. Seeds from all over the country – over 400 varieties of roses and flowers – are gown here and rated by judges based on flower quality, foliage, attractiveness, durability and so on. This beauty pageant, if you will, determines if the plants will be grown in the formal gardens.
The Boerner Botanical Gardens are rich with history as well as beauty. Not only does it have something for everyone, it’s a great place for a relaxing retreat or to spend an afternoon just sitting in the gardens and taking a peaceful afternoon stroll with someone you love – that alone is definitely worth the modest admission.
What a perfect day!
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Boerner Botanical Gardens
Hours: Daily, 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. (Garden 8 a.m. - Sunset)
April 21 – October 14 (weather permitting)
Adults $4.50
Children (ages 6 -17) $2.50
Wow. The pictures are beautiful.
Posted by: Mary | September 10, 2007 at 10:27 AM
Beautiful story and photos!!
I worked in the Gardens during my sophomore through senior years at Greendale High School, during the summer vacation time. My mother was an assistant to the director John Voight. She assisted in the selection, and purchase of plants, and helped in the design of the Bog Walk, and other parts of the Gardens.
She worked also as a receptionist in the front office for many years.
I'm sure that while I was there, 1951 through 1954, the gardens were already named the Alfred L Boerner Botanical Gardens. The history of the gardens, as written on internet sites indicate that the name wasn't changed for two year after Boerner died in 1955. I think that fact is wrong.
Regards,
Ron Jacobson
Posted by: Ron Jacobson | February 21, 2008 at 08:59 PM
Ron, thanks for taking the time to share with us! I bet it's exciting to go back to the Gardens and see how your mom's work has matured and evolved over the years. That's pretty special to know someone who was part of its creation. :)
Posted by: Karen | February 22, 2008 at 12:36 PM