2023 Specialty Gardens

Enjoy our 20-acre, award-winning botanical showcase featuring 26 different garden areas and more than 4,000 plant varieties, nestled in the heart of Janesville, Wisconsin.

Rotary Botanical Gardens is home to many dramatic and internationally themed gardens including the Japanese Garden, the Scottish Garden, The French Formal Garden, and the Italian and English Cottage Gardens, just to name a few!

If you’ve visited the Gardens before … you’ve never seen them like this!

Cherry Blossom Walk

Similar to the Japanese Flowering Cherry trees that Japan gifted the U.S. to form a grove of cherry trees in Washington, D.C.; these trees erupt in a cloud of pink flowers in May.

The Cutting Garden

New this year! Adjacent to our Wellness Garden, a new garden will feature over a thousand Iceland poppies in late-May and then in the summer will transition to plants that have traditionally been grown for floral arrangements. Expect to see tall zinnias, cosmos, verbena, celosia, gaura and many more vibrant flower varieties.

Dahlia Collection

Back by popular demand, with even more variety than last year! 13-planted beds will showcase a wide variety of dahlia, with different colors, shapes, and sizes. Native to Mexico, the dahlias will begin providing color in early August and last until our first frost. We anticipate having over 60 different dahlia varieties on display.

StoryWalk (in partnership with the Hedberg Public Library)

In 2023, our StoryWalk brings to life the book “Good Place” by Lucy Cousins. From June – October, those who visit the Gardens will find this book on display in its new home, the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children’s Garden! The StoryWalk program is an interactive display, which aims to promote literacy, reading, health, exercise, and movement specifically for children.

Nancy Yahr Memorial Children’s Garden

The Nancy Yahr Children’s Garden is a vibrant “Pollinator Paradise” attracting butterflies, bumblebees, and hummingbirds. The mini amphitheater and “Journey of the Imagination” sculpture make it a perfect setting for children’s programs.

The Terrace Garden

Escape to the Tropics with banana plants, cannas and coleus. Enjoy the vivid colors with plenty of interest from both bold foliage and flowers.

The Sunken Garden

A Formal English style garden with central lawn and peripheral white, “Moon Garden”,
flowerbeds. Large drifts of perennials offer color and texture with annuals offering lengthy and colorful augmentation to a garden space popular for weddings and other special events. The Garden features large cottonwoods and honey locusts that provide a cathedral effect, and the hand carved limestone arch from the historic Parker Pen Company world headquarters.

The Reception Garden

The Reception Garden, another popular event space, is formally designed with blue, silver, and white plantings and features a juniper archway and iconic European druid statue symbolizing the protection of flora and fauna.

Rotary Botanical Gardens: Enriching lives through beauty, education, and the arts