About the Garden

The mission of the Mizzou Botanic Garden is to support the University of Missouri in the areas of education, research, extension, and economic development. To this end, the Garden is to serve as a public resource providing educational opportunities through the collections, display, interpretation and conservation of plants suited to central Missouri in a manner which inspires, educates and delights visitors of all ages.

For those of you who have not been to campus lately or are first time visitors, our garden is the MU campus. We have turned our environment into an exceptional and beautiful learning opportunity for our students, faculty, staff and visitors.

We hope you will visit often as the garden changes with each season and grows with each passing year.

News & Information

2024 Jacquelyn K. Jones Lecture

Entomologist and author Doug Tallamy will give Mizzou Botanic Garden’s 2024 Jones Lecture: “Homegrown National Park”, his pitch to return privately owned lands to ecological balance. A second lecture the following morning discusses “Saving Nature in Your Yard” cosponsored by the City of Columbia Office of Sustainability. 

Know Your Natives

MU Horticulture Manager Jenna Sommer has successfully completed the Missouri Grow Native! Professional Certification Program, enhancing her knowledge of working with natives in landscapes.

Mizzou Botanic Garden has a New Director

On April 1, Joe Kovolyan became MU’s third Director of Landscape Services and Mizzou Botanic Garden. An Ohio native with more than 25 years of experience in landscape management, Kovolyan most recently served as Manager of Grounds at Vanderbilt University.

Mizzou Botanic Garden News You Can Use: Arboriculture

What do you do when you have questions about treating a tree in your landscape for what you suspect might be insect or pathogen damage? Or maybe you wonder if a tree growing in your yard that has been damaged or that is no longer flourishing and seems to be in decline might need to be removed? Ultimately, you should engage the services of a certified arborist.

Pat and Sandy Hiatte make transformative MUBG gift commitment

A $5 million estate gift from MU Alumni Pat and Sandy Hiatte of New Bloomfield, Mo., will be split equally by Mizzou Botanic Garden (MUBG) and the School of Journalism. This generous gift is the largest ever committed to MUBG in the campus garden’s 25 years of existence.

What a difference a genus can make: Oaks

Increasingly, scientists and others are recognizing the important ecological, economic and cultural roles oak trees play in this country. MUBG takes a brief look at the genus and the roles oaks – specifically white oaks (Quercus alba) play in the lives of Missourians.

Join Friends of the Mizzou Botanic Garden and in addition to other benefits, you can visit 345+ gardens throughout North America for free. Memberships run from July 1 to June 30.