Botany teacher Eloise Butler began planting this glen in 1907, hauling wildflowers in by streetcar to create what became the oldest public wildflower garden in the United States. Fifteen acres inside Theodore Wirth Park now shelter more than 500 plant species in woodland, wetland and prairie gardens.
The garden unfolds by season like a slow fireworks show: bloodroot and trillium in April, lady’s slippers — Minnesota’s state flower — in June, goldenrod and asters blazing into October. Wooden paths wind past a mallard pond and the Martha Crone visitor shelter, where naturalists answer every “what’s that flower?” with delight.
Admission is free, the loudest sound is birdsong, and the whole place feels like a secret the city keeps for anyone who needs quiet. Eloise would approve.
