The Nichols Arboretum Peony Garden draws thousands of visitors annually to this spectacular “living museum” on campus that showcases upwards of 10,000 blossoms. Originally planted in 1922, the garden now boasts North America’s largest public collection of heirloom herbaceous peonies.  The Peony Garden has become a sacred space for the Ann Arbor community. In the spring of 2022, it will celebrate 100 years of existence.

To prepare the gardens for next spring’s celebration, staff from Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum (MBGNA) reached out to Grounds Services for assistance. Grounds staff worked alongside garden staff to identify and paint lines to cut new edges on all of the beds. 

“It’s so wonderful to see the beautiful clear edges the garden deserves,” said Sarah Gizzi, Peony Garden Fellow. “In the past, this task has been done by hand with the help of volunteers and has always taken up a huge chunk of time. To have it done in one morning and looking so clean and precise is an enormous relief.”

Grounds staff also applied organic fertilizer to the lawns and delivered mulch for the MBGNA staff to install in the gardens. This work will provide clean lines and a fresh look for the peonies in the spring.

Written by Rob Doletzky and Bill Kronberg