Horticultural Tour of Epic Gardens with Jeff Epping

Join us for a delightful tour of the whimsical gardens at Epic Systems in Verona, Wisconsin. Jeff Epping, author and former Director of Horticulture for Olbrich Garden, will lead the tour. Jeff worked with Epic’s design team since 2006 and made all the planting plans for the campuses.

Epic owns over 1600 acres. The central portion of the property spans five campuses that are uniquely themed: Farm, Prairie, Central Park/Learning, Wizards Academy and Storybook. The eco-friendly gardens of Epic support local fauna with their diverse plantings that are made up of over 1500 taxa of forbs, grasses, vines, shrubs, and trees. Over 35 of the 410 acres of plantings ‎are actually green roofs built atop underground parking garages or other buildings, and they not only support insects, birds and other animals, but also absorb water and reduce the effects of urban heating.

Some Epic facts:
• 89 buildings – including a treehouse, 27 farm buildings & 1 greenhouse – support the operation of Epic
• Almost 7500 geothermal wells were drilled to help sustainably heat and cool the buildings as well as 1.75 MW of solar panels and 6 wind turbines generating 9.9 MW of power
• On campus there are 42 sheep, 14 cows, 300 cow bikes, 4 dinosaurs, 1 cave, 1 train car and 1 ship-wrecked boat

The trip includes transportation by comfortable coach, and a tour of the gardens guided by Jeff Epping. Pollinator experts Judy Cardin and Jade Kochanski will bd with us to help identify the butterflies and bees we see. The bus boards at 12:15 p.m., and leaves the UW-Madison Arboretum at 12:30 p.m., returning by 5:00 p.m.  Cost: $75 per person.

Trip is limited to 52 participants. Online registration is fastest.  If you prefer to register by mail, click here for a PDF registration form. Mail-in registrations must be received by July 8, 2026.

FOA trips are an important part of fundraising efforts by FOA to support the Arboretum.  We strive to make these trips interesting and accessible to all attendees.  To ensure that we have adequate time to find replacement attendees and ensure that FOA costs are covered, FOA trips have the following cancellation policy (unless otherwise noted.

 Transferring your registration to a new attendee is always allowed.  Contact Allison Eyring-Green at npscoordinator@foamadison.org or call the FOA office at 608-890-2555 to request a ticket transfer.
 Cancelling without requesting a refund is an option.  Your registration fee will be used to offset trip costs and to support the Arboretum.
 Cancel 30 or more days before departure for a full refund of your registration fee.
 Cancel 29 days or fewer before departure and the registration fee is non-refundable.