Welcome to the Mizzou Botanic Garden

Mizzou Botanic Garden’s (MUBG) mission is to serve as a public resource to provide educational opportunities through collections, displays, interpretation and conservation of plants suited to central Missouri. Efforts to fulfill that mission by the staff and Friends of the Garden are in sync with one of MU’s core values: discovery. We strive to accomplish this in a manner which inspires and delights visitors of all ages.

On April 1 of this year, I took the helm as Head of Landscape Services and Director of Mizzou Botanic Garden with more than 25 years’ of experience across the country in groundskeeping, arboriculture and sports turf. I am enjoying getting to know my colleagues at the University and look forward to the challenges and rewards of my new position.

I have inherited a great staff and a beautiful campus. Together we are working on a campus designation as a Tree Campus Higher Education site and are investigating the possibility of a campus designation as an arboretum. Stay tuned.

MUBG celebrated its 25^th anniversary as a botanic garden in August this year. Established in 1999, MUBG’s roots are in the late Chancellor Emeritus Barbara Uehling’s early 1980s vision to “unify and beautify” the campus. These twin goals launched MU’s campus-to-botanic-garden makeover.

On August 26, 1999, Chancellor Emeritus Richard Wallace formally approved the campus’ designation as Mizzou Botanic Garden. As such, the Garden has functioned as a critical tool in recruiting students, faculty and staff; as a demonstration site for important issues in horticulture; as an outdoor, living laboratory for Mizzou students in plant sciences, engineering, journalism, education and natural resources; and as a an area botanic demonstration garden for visitors. We take pride in MUBG’s contributions to the success of the university over the last quarter of a century.

I invite you to read a history of our origins told by some of the key players in the effort.

Please make time to visit Mizzou’s 1,252-acre botanic garden, free and open to the public seven days a week all year long free of charge for a relaxing stroll through the campus garden and for inspiration about what might thrive in your home landscape.

Garden maps and self-guided Tree Trail maps can help you plan your visit. MUBG scavenger hunts of the gardens,  Tree Trails and Tribute Benches will take you throughout MUBG’s gardens and landscaping.

Our garden programs group has ramped-up MUBG’s tour offerings, and it is now possible to request a tour from the homepage of the website, where you also can read  about MUBG’s Plants of the Month and link to our twice-monthly column in the Columbia Missourian. 

Please consider staying abreast of what the garden is up to by becoming a Friend of the Garden and receiving “The Leaflet”, our electronic newsletter.

Thanks in advance for your support. I look forward to my role as director of the garden, to new partnerships and collaborations and to becoming acquainted and working with members of the MU and Columbia communities.

JOE KOVOLYAN

Director of Landscape Services and Mizzou Botanic Garden

P. S. Alumni, friends and organizations wishing to support the Mizzou Botanic Garden's mission and growth may contact the garden at (573)884-6307 or e-mail garden@missouri.edu