Guests browse peonies in bloom at the W. E. Upjohn Peony Garden at Nichols Arboretum in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, May 27 2025.Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com
ANN ARBOR, MI – Thousands of blooming peony plants were destroyed overnight at the University of Michigan’s W.E. Upjohn Peony Garden.
Tony Kolenic, director of Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum, shared the news in a video Sunday, June 1, on social media.
“These peonies are not just plants, they are living beings,” Kolenic said in a Facebook post. “They’ve been nurtured over generations and bring joy, community, and connection to the natural world for so many people every season.”
Related: Don’t miss the Arb’s peonies in peak bloom near University of Michigan’s campus
With more than 800 distinct peonies, the garden is the nation’s largest collection of flowering peony plants. Peak bloom was expected to be taking place this weekend.
“What happened here was an act of disregard not just for the garden, but for the community and really to life itself,” Kolenic said in the social media post. “Yet, this is a resilient garden. It will bloom – it will be fine.”
A message left with police seeking additional information was not immediately returned on Sunday.
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