Milwaukee County Gardens
Bloom Team at Boerner Botanical Gardens
9400 Boerner Drive, Hales Corners
Volunteer weekly throughout the growing season to document what is in bloom in specific assigned garden areas at Boerner Botanical Gardens. Data is used to make a season-long record of blooms each year and it is posted on the Friends of Boerner Botanical Gardens website.
Foodwise Assistance Native Wellness Garden
6th and Howard, Milwaukee (across from St. Adalbert’s Cemetery)
A community garden that focuses on disease prevention by promoting a healthy lifestyle and healthy food choices while incorporating traditional Native American culture and practices. The NWG includesan orchard, Three Sisters plantings, Medicine Wheel, accessible garden areas, community beds, and a large donation garden. In 2020, the Native Wellness Garden grew and donated 690 lbs. of produce to the Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center community. Master gardener volunteers serve as garden mentors by providing informal education during garden hours and assisting with special projects
Foodwise Assistance Maglio Farm
4287 North Port Washington Road, Milwaukee
An 11-hoop house, year-around urban agriculture collaboration between the Riverwest Food Pantry and Groundwork Milwaukee, and is dedicated to establishing a just food system in the Milwaukee area. In 2020, Maglio Farm grew and donated 10,000 lbs. of produce to the Riverwest Food Pantry community. Volunteers serve as the backbone of the site providing an incredible amount of labor and sense of community. Master gardener volunteers have been involved in the project for the past few years providing informal education during volunteer garden hours and assisting with special projects.
Franciscan Gardens
3601 South Chicago Avenue, South Milwaukee
The Gardens at the Way of St. Francis on South Milwaukee's Franciscan Villa campus wrap around one of the four Franciscan Villa facilities. Franciscan Villa serves individuals needing physical rehabilitation as well as independent, assisted, dementia and skilled nursing care for seniors. Six different gardens wrap around the Franciscan Villa Gardens building: Memorial Garden, Arbor Garden, Blue & White Garden, Yellow Garden, the Rose and Hydrangea Garden, and the newest Native Plant and Pollinator Garden. Inside is an outdoor courtyard with many sensory plants and potting activities. If you enjoy participating in and contributing to horticultural therapy or creating peaceful, healing strolls for families living with aging and dementia, this is the garden for you.
Greendale High School Community Garden
6801 Southway, Greendale
Volunteers help water, weed, plant, and harvest this garden. Some opportunities are available to supervise students for various projects on an as needed basis. Volunteers also staff a booth at the Greendale Green Market.
Harvest for the Hungry at Firefly Ridge
10602 Underwood Parkway, Wauwatosa
The purpose of the garden is to plant, maintain, pick, clean and deliver fresh vegetables to Wauwatosa Community Pantry or Hunger Task Force warehouse facility. These vegetables are sent to food pantries or meal sites throughout Milwaukee County.
Kneeland-Walker Gardens (Wauwatosa Historical Society)
7406 West Hillcrest Drive, Wauwatosa
This one-and-a-half-acre garden property represents a midwestern late Victorian garden. It is not a restoration but maintains the intent and flavor of such gardens. There are many annuals around a backbone of perennials. New varieties exemplify the spirit of that period.
Kradwell School Garden
1220 Dewey Avenue, Wauwatosa
A vegetable garden located behind Kradwell School on the Aurora Psychiatric Hospital campus. Gardeners who would enjoy this environment are: those who predominantly enjoy vegetable gardening or are eager to learn more about it; those who enjoy working with adolescents; and those content to provide support for a learning garden managed by students.
Lynden Sculpture Garden
2145 West Brown Deer Road, Milwaukee
These gardens consist of two areas. One garden is a pollinator garden, emphasizing native plant diversity selected for attracting birds, insects, and active interaction by children. There is a sunflower tunnel that children can walk through and look up at the tall sunflowers overhead and includes a sensory herb spiral where the plants have been chosen for their sensory characteristics (smell, taste, and feel). The second garden surrounds a permanent bonsai exhibit and features subtle, carefully selected plants to bloom the entire summer and to augment the bonsai tree exhibit. A rain garden has recently been added adjacent to this garden.
Maryland Avenue Montessori School Garden
2418 North Maryland Avenue, Milwaukee
Children learn environmental stewardship through work, lessons and play in the garden and surrounding natural spaces. Gardens include a ½ acre rain garden, ¼ acre pollinator garden, bioswale, orchard, ornamental gardens, and 11 4-ft. x 6-ft. raised beds dedicated to square foot vegetable gardening. Master gardener volunteers have opportunities to participate in both gardening and education activities. Garden workdays are scheduled weekly and MGVs who complete orientation can work independently in garden upkeep. You are also invited to work with the garden educator to help implement lessons to students throughout the school year, Thursdays and Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
North Point Lighthouse (Lake Park)
2650 North Wahl Avenue, Milwaukee
The gardens, including flower and vegetable beds, surround the North Point Lighthouse designed by Frederick Law Olmstead on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan in Lake Park. Our greatest impact is invasive removal and renovation planting along the ravines on the property and education for hundreds of people that traverse the property each week.
Ronald McDonald House
8948 West Watertown Plank Road, Wauwatosa
The Secret Garden is a private respite for the staff and guest families at the Ronald McDonald House. Master gardener volunteers created a Monarch Way Station, a registered National Wildlife Habitat, and various gardens: raised-bed vegetable, pollinator, fairy, Mesozoic garden with prehistoric plants, perennial alphabet, water, shade and sunny gardens. A Family Garden Education Program is held weekly. Garden tours are lead for the staff and public groups, and we have created self-guided Garden Explorations.
State Fair Gardens in Exploratory Park
640 South 84th Street, West Allis
Annual venue for showcasing MGVs to Wisconsin State Fair visitors. Includes multiple gardens: shade, sun, native plants, and a working compost area. Volunteers improve and maintain the area throughout the growing season. During the Fair master gardener volunteers answer visitors’ questions and distribute research-based literature.
Zoo Butterfly Habitat
10001 West Bluemound Road, Milwaukee
The Butterfly Habitat at the Milwaukee County Zoo attracts many visitors to see and hear about gardening for butterflies throughout their life cycle. During public events at the Zoo, MGVs conduct outreach activities at this location to educate a diverse population of all ages about how to plant and maintain their own pollinator gardens and butterfly habitat, including caterpillar food plants as well as butterfly nectar flowers. The garden area features many native plants and MGVs educate the public about them as well. Signs, plant labels, and educational brochures ensure public education even when MGVs are not volunteering in the Habitat. Four garden beds located south of the red barn in the Farm are planted to represent the vegetables grown by distinct ethnic groups. This area also includes many planters, a rock wall garden, compost area, and fruit trees.
Zoo Heritage Garden
10001 West Bluemound Road, Milwaukee
Four garden beds located south of the red barn in the Farm are planted to represent the vegetables grown by distinct ethnic groups. This area also includes many planters, a rock wall garden, compost area, and fruit trees.