Fernwood Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve

Search again Edit this page
United States of America - Michigan - Niles

Institution Code: NILES

BGCI Member: No

ArbNet Accredited: Level II

About the Fernwood Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve

Fernwood’s mission is to enrich the lives of all people by stimulating the appreciation of nature, exemplifying harmony between people, plants, gardens, and wildlife, and using the distinctive natural and cultivated habitats known as Fernwood.

Main Address:
Fernwood Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve
13988 Range Line Road
Niles
Michigan 49120 United States of America

Telephone: (269) 695-6491
Fax: (616) 695-6688
URL: www.fernwoodbotanical.org
Primary Email: visitor@fernwoodbotanical.org

Staff Details

  • Director's Name: Carol Line, Executive Director
    Curator's Name: Steve Bornell, Plant Collection Manager
    Plant Records Officer's Name: Ann Desenberg, Collections Recorder
  • Total Staff:
    Horticultural Staff Number: 4
    Educational Staff Number: 3
    Research Staff Number:
    Administration Staff Number: 4

About the Garden

  • Institution Type: Botanic Garden
  • Status
  • Status: Private: Yes
    Status: State: No
    Status: Educational: Yes
    Status: Municipal: No
    Status: Satellite: No
    Status: Trust: No
  • Date founded: 1964
  • Physical Data
  • Natural Vegetation Area: Yes
    Natural vegetation area: Size: 17 Hectares
  • Landscaped Area: Yes
    Landscaped Area: Size: 20 Hectares
  • Total Area: 43 Hectares
    Latitude: 41.8621290
    Longitude: -86.3400570
    Annual Rainfall: 800 mm
    Altitude: 0.00 Metres
    Total area of glasshouses: 93 Metres
    Total area of shadehouses: 10 Metres
  • Locality: Information
  • Locality: Garden Name: Fernwood Botanical Garden & Nature Preserve
  • Local Address: 13988 Range Line Rd.
  • Locality: City: Niles
  • Locality: State: Michigan

Features and Facilities

  • Herbarium: Yes
    Herbarium: Number of Specimens: 300
    Arboretum: Yes
    Arboretum Size: 16
  • Micropropagation/ Tissue Culture Facilities: No
    Seed Bank: No
    Published Plant Catalogue: No
    Computer Plant Record System: Yes
  • Open to public: Yes
    Friends society: Yes
    Retail Outlet: Shop: Yes
    Retail Outlet: Plant Sales: Yes
    Disabled access: Yes
  • Number of Visitors: 25000
    Number of Volunteers: 250

Plant Collections

  • Special Collections:From the aconites of early spring through the asters and mums of fall, Fernwood is an ever-changing landscape of blooming plants. In April and May, visitors enjoy drifts of daffodils and primroses, a wonderful variety of flowering trees and shrubs, and Fernwood’s famous blue lawn. Summer brings a rich diversity of shade- and sun-loving perennials, annuals, and herbs, plus many butterflies. Even after the first frosts of autumn, the gardens continue to delight with colorful displays of perennials and ornamental grasses.

    The Kay Boydston Fern House is named for Fernwood’s founder, who was a skilled grower, propagator, and hybridizer of ferns. Rocky cliffs occupy the center of this 1,000-square foot conservatory, with a waterfall cascading down to a small pond at one end. More than 100 kinds of tropical ferns grow in the rocks and nearby beds, along with a variety of interesting companion plants. Goldfish inhabit the pond and visitors occasionally see frogs in wet hollows among the rocks.

Conservation Programmes

Research Programmes

Education Programmes

  • Visitor/Education Centre: Yes
    Education Programme: Yes