Friends of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

10/27/2026

It's Buckthorn Awareness Week!

Buckthorn Awareness Week (BAW) takes place the week after peak fall color, when buckthorn stands out most clearly because it holds its dark green leaves longer than most other woody plants. The timing intends raises awareness without dampening enjoyment of autumn's vibrant colors.

BAW is a grassroots effort to educate community leaders and neighbors about buckthorn's widespread dominance in natural areas, and the displacement of biodiversity this brings.

Gaze into the understory of your neighboring woodlands as you travel around this week. Consider what is missing throughout the year: hundreds of types of flowers, pollen, nectar, seeds, fruits, leaves, stems, roots, tubers, fungal associates--and all the life that depends on them.

10/26/2026

Volunteer stewards at work in Anwatin Savanna on a beautiful fall afternoon.

10/23/2026

The Maple Bowl, October 23rd, 2026.

Once full of buckthorn, now virtually 100% free.

Follow us if you want to show your support and stay in the loop on what we're up to. Thanks!

10/23/2026

10/22/2026

The Friends of the Wildflower Garden (Friends) and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board are deeply grateful to everyone who has contributed to the Friends' Celebrate 175! campaign to fund the Council Ring. This feature is the centerpiece of the first phase of the Garden's Entrance Renovation project. Every gift helped show how much our community cares about the Garden and Eloise Butler’s legacy.

The Friends’ campaign remains open through November 6.

If you have already given, thank you. If you would still like to participate, the Friends welcome your support to celebrate Eloise’s 175th birthday and invest in the Garden’s future.

To contribute go to: www.friendsofeloisebutler.org

The project is set to be under construction soon! More details will be shared in the coming days.

10/20/2026

The Maple Bowl, Theodore Wirth Park, virtually buckthorn free since circa 2021.

Photos Oct 27, 2021

10/19/2026

🌿 Celebrate Eloise Butler’s 175th Birthday at the Bell Museum on November 5!

Join the Friends and the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden community on November 5 at the Bell Museum for a special evening celebrating Eloise Butler’s 175th birthday and the exhibition of the incredible Wildflower Garden Florilegium! 🌸🎨

🕠 The event is from 5:30 PM until 8:30PM and throughout the evening you can:

🌿 Explore the completed Florilegium exhibit, Wild Beauty
🍽️ Savor appetizers and enjoy a cash bar
🎤 Enjoy engaging lightning lectures
🌱 Visit the amazing Touch and See Room (from 6:30-7:30pm)

🎙️ Featured Speakers Include:
Marilyn Garber, Director of the Minnesota School for Botanical Art
George Weiblen, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Science Director and Curator of Plants at the Bell Museum
Susan Wilkins, Curator of Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary

📅 November 5 5:30-8:30PM 📍 Bell Museum 🎟️ Tickets: $25 — advance purchase required

👉 Purchase your tickets in advance through the Friends of Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden website. www.friendsofeloisebutler.org

🌼 Celebrate the legacy of Eloise Butler and discover the beauty of botanical art and the natural world!

Photo courtesy of the Bell Museum.

10/19/2026

Anwatin Savanna is opening up beautifully. You can finally see the pond from the trails above. This place, dotted with mature oaks and large snags, with a long undulating slope down to the water from a local high point, is becoming a quite the destination. Birders were thick there last evening.

See our upcoming events to take a tour or help!

10/14/2026

The next few weeks are the best time to see just how dominant buckthorn has become in natural areas.

As most native trees and shrubs drop their leaves, buckthorn stays green a few weeks longer, making it stand out in the landscape. Most of the dark green you see in the understory of our woodlands is buckthorn.

As you travel around this month, take a closer look at the understory.

Discouraging? Yes. Will we ever remove it all everywhere? No.

But we CAN restore diversity on a significant and meaningful scale--if we pick up our role as stewards of the fragmented natural world around us. Many people find it adds meaning and purpose to their lives.

Be like Eloise. Act locally.

10/11/2026

This former buckthorn thicket is starting to look like the inspirational image on our signs!
(The photo on the sign is from an amazing oak woodland restoration at Somme Woods in Illinois)