ANN ARBOR – After closing to visitors for the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic, the historic peony garden inside University of Michigan’s Nichols Arboretum will reopen this year to visitors.
The news was announced by Matthaei-Nichols director Tony Kolenic in a newsletter on Friday.
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“One of the top questions we get is: Will the peony garden be open this year?” wrote Kolenic. “The answer is yes. Even so, every visitor to the peony garden will be expected to mask up and follow the well-known distancing guidelines. We may also be faced with having to limit peony visits depending on crowd guidelines we receive from the university.”
As the state of Michigan leads the nation in COVID cases, directives could change by the time the flowers bloom.
From late May to mid-June each year, large waves of visitors flock to the garden to see thousands of the fragrant flowers in bloom.
Although the garden was closed to the public last year, the entrances the Arb remained open to the public, so staff couldn’t completely clear people from the area. This year, visitors will be expected to practice proper social distancing and wear face coverings at all times.