Open daily throughout the year from dawn to dusk. Admission fee: $0. www.DubuqueArboretum.net | 563.556.2100

The Dubuque Arboretum & Botanical Gardens have been a part of the Dubuque community since 1980. Featuring more than 60 different types of gardens (including Rose, Hosta, English, Japanese, Herb, and more), the grounds continue to grow and expand every year. All are volunteer-created and volunteer-maintained.

A wedding venue. It continues to be a sought-after wedding venue for many couples in the area as well as globally. Favorite sites include: the Gazebo adjacent to the Rose Garden, the formal English Garden, the Japanese Garden.

Must-see attractions in the gardens include:

• its collection of award-winning roses,
• the Home Gardening Learning Center,
• the Waterfall Garden,
• the Gazebo,
• the Herb Garden,
• the beautiful formal English Garden, and
• the Japanese Garden, with its charming bridge overlooking a koi pond.

Other interesting collections found at the garden include conifers, nut trees and dwarf fruits, geraniums, hibiscus, hosias, azaleas, ornamental grasses, and peonies.

A free musical concert series (Music in the Gardens) is hosted on the grounds throughout the summer months: Sundays @ 6:30p. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own lawn chair or blanket.

For souvenir shopping, visitors may stop at the Gift Shop ... open daily April 1-Sept 30, 9a-8p. Educational materials may also be accessed at the library located in the Heinemann Center.