Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Foundation

Programs: Expenses incurred are for design and ongoing care of public garden displays and collections, maintenance of buildings and grounds, enhancing visitor experience and learning, sustaining life-long education programs, expanding community outreach activities as well as cultivating horticultural science and cold-hardy plant research, conservation and preservation of rare and endangered species. The arboretum consists of over 1,200 acres including 18 displays/model landscapes, 45 collections, 28 gardens, and over 5,100 taxa. Special features are a sphagnum bog, maple basswood big woods, tallgrass prairie, and restored sedge meadow. The arboretum was recognized by the north american plant collections consortium, a network of botanical gardens and arboreta for excellence in standards for its pines and ornamental grasses collection. The arboretum serves as a top visitor destination in the minneapolis-st. Paul metro area with nature-inspired experiences and programming, attracting 402,619 visitors in fiscal year 2015. Membership sales were at $1. 45 million and 24,700 households and groups. The addition of two visitor circulators that offer step-on, step-off access into the heart of the arboretum. Digital display monitors at three stops along three-mile drive promote increased accessibility to explore the arboretum gardens, landscapes and nearly 12 miles of paved walkways and trails. More than 75,000 students from pre-school-high school along with teachers, parents and other adults and families participated in a wide variety of classes, programs, and events relating to horticultural and natural science and inspired by nature and the outdoors. The university of minnesota's horticultural research center continues its internationally renowned cold-hardy plant research and discovery, with 155 introductions of cold-hardy fruit and landscape plants benefitting the scientific community, horticultural industry and the community at large to enjoy.