Support
Every year, the Arboretum relies on its visitors, donors, and members (more than 30,000) to fund its operating budget. Nearly 1,000 volunteers give their time generously every year in the gardens, throughout the buildings, and at special events to make the Arboretum a fun and engaging place 363 days a year.
Mission
To welcome, inform, and inspire all through outstanding displays, protected natural areas, horticultural research, and education.
Vision
The premier northern landscape arboretum welcomes all to enjoy, learn from, and connect with nature.
The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is the product of hard work coming from every one of our employees and the leadership that guides our progress!
The Arboretum's annual operating budget is funded primarily by individual members, donors, and private foundations in the form of gifts and grants.
Faced with a need to research plants suitable for growing in a rugged northern climate, the Men’s Garden Club of Minneapolis approached the Minnesota State Horticultural Society in 1956 with an idea for an arboretum. With the help of a gift from the Lake Minnetonka Garden Club, 160 acres of land near the University of Minnesota Fruit Breeding Farm was purchased in 1958 and given to the University of Minnesota to form the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum | 3675 Arboretum Drive Chaska, MN 55318
Gardens & Collections
The Arboretum has grown dramatically over the years to include 28 specialty gardens, 44 plant collections, more than 150 permanent works of art, 200 staff members, and a stunning array of 5,900 unique species, cultivars, and hybrids.
The Oswald Visitor Center and Snyder Building at the Arboretum include a Gift & Garden Store, three art galleries, a conservatory, event spaces, and a horticultural library with rare books. The Farm at the Arb, which sits on a high hill on the grounds, is home to a restored red barn, a bee and pollinator center, and the new Myers Education Center.
Education
As part of its mission, the Arboretum offers educational classes — in person and online — for more than 20,000 adults and children every year. A dedicated learning center on Arboretum grounds — and outreach to area schools — provides children with fun, hands-on, K-6 science standards-based school programs that use plants and nature as inspiration. Popular online programming and outreach programs spread the Arboretum’s reach across the state among all ages. A professionally facilitated Nature-Based Therapeutics program based at the Arboretum connects visitors at the Arboretum as well as those in the community to experience measurable improvements in their health and well-being.
Research
As a part of the College of Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) at the University of Minnesota, the Arboretum is world-renowned for woody plant and fruit breeding research programs, including the commercial introduction of the Honeycrisp apple and more than 160 cold-hardy plant varieties developed at the Arboretum’s Horticultural Research Center.
The Plant Conservation Program based at the Arboretum works to promote the conservation of rare and native plant species in Minnesota, including a seed bank for plants native to Minnesota such as terrestrial native orchids, carnivorous plants, cacti, and more.
Founded in 1958, The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is a 1,200-acre public garden in Chaska, Minnesota, that attracts over 600,000 visitors per year. Best known for its beautiful display gardens, nationally recognized tree collections, protected natural areas, and research activity, the Arboretum is easy to explore via paved paths, such as Three-Mile Walk and Three-Mile Drive, which are open year-round. Many miles of wooded trails, stone pathways, and routes for cross-country skiers and snowshoers provide access to the healing power of nature in all seasons.
