Andersen Horticultural Library Off-campus

Located at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Andersen Horticultural Library (AHL) is a reference library specializing in horticulture, botanical art, plant sciences and natural history. 

In addition to the reference collection, custom-built Nakashima furnishings make this space a welcoming retreat for reading and reflection.

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.

Marcus Tullius Cicero

Visit the Andersen Horticultural Library

Plan your visit

Located in the Leon C. Snyder building at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, the Andersen Horticultural Library is open to the public. There is an admission fee for entry to the Arboretum, but it is waived for visitors who come only to research at the library. Get directions to the Arboretum, or view an interactive map of the Arboretum grounds. 

AHL is part of the University of Minnesota Libraries. A reading and reference library; items cannot be checked out.  Search the library's holdings by using the University Libraries' catalog.

To make an appointment to view rare and historic materials, contact the librarian, Kathy Allen.

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Exhibits

Hand drawn illustration of a pink and white tree peony

Capturing Colors: 5th Annual Flora and Fauna Illustrata

This year's Flora and Fauna Illustrata Exhibition features scientifically accurate, brightly-colored artwork by local artists depicting flowers, fruits, insects, and other organisms living at the Arboretum. You'll be tickled pink by this beautiful array of colors.

August 26, 2022 - February 28, 2023, in the Arboretum Skyway Gallery  
Vignette of tiny books surrounded by small nature specimens such as fungi, lichen, and acorns

The Art of Tiny Things

Celebrate the tiny things in life! Explore miniature books and art from the Andersen Horticultural Library's collection featuring tiny organisms that are often overlooked, including moss, fungi, lichen, insects, and more.

August 26, 2022 - February 28, 2023, in the Andersen Horticultural Library
Illustration of a Monarch butterfly on milkweed flowers

Flora and Fauna Illustrata

The Flora and Fauna Illustrata [FFI] collection is the Andersen Horticultural Library’s ongoing project to document all the species of plants, animals, insects, and fungi living at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum through scientifically accurate fine art.

The FFI collection is currently made up of over 90 juried two-dimensional works of art donated by over 30 different artists, many of whom are local. This exhibition features selected outstanding works from the FFI collection, from aspens and butterflies to turtles and water lilies, as well as process materials from FFI artists.

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Events

StoryTime

Storytime at the library will continue in the spring!

In-person Storytimes are being held once per month on the last Friday at 10:30 a.m. from April to November. We’ll celebrate plants and nature and foster a love for books and reading as we explore the library's vast catalog of children’s books.

 

Pre-recorded virtual storytimes can be watched here.

Friends Book Sale

The Friends of AHL Annual Book Sale for 2022 was a success. Thank you to all who donated and shopped!

Book donations for the 2023 Book Sale are now being accepted. Please drop donations off during open hours, or call in advance to schedule time if you are donating a large number of items. 

We do not accept textbooks, magazines, or outdated reference items. If you are unsure if an item will be accepted, please contact us at hortlib@umn.edu.

Call for artists

Artists from around the world are invited to show us the best of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum’s flora and fauna. Information about this joint project with the library, as well as submission information is on the FFI website.

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Collections in the Andersen Horticultural Library

The Library collection is a rich resource for everyone from the weekend gardener planning a perennial border to the professional horticulturist.  

Its collection of nearly 20,000 books and 300 subscriptions to magazines, newsletters, and scientific journals provides information and inspiration.  

Areas of specialization include

  • horticulture,
  • botany,
  • landscape design,
  • botanical illustration,
  • garden crafts,
  • cookbooks, and
  • natural history.  

Included is a children's collection of books for readers of all ages. 

Digitized collections

Andersen Horticultural Library's digitized items are freely available online through the UMedia Archive.

Special research collections

Our special research collections include:

Seed and Nursery Catalogs

One of North America's largest seed and nursery catalog collections with over 76,000 items dating from 1614 to the current year.  More than 8,000 firms are represented.

Rare books and journals

Rare books and journals on horticulture, botany, garden design, botanical art and illustration, trees, birds, flowers, and other natural history subjects from the early 1500s to the present.

Plant Information Online

Plants from hundreds of recent catalogs were listed in the now-retired Plant Information Online. View the Plant Info archive and alternative resources.

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Give to the collection

The Andersen Horticultural Library relies on the generosity of the community to help fund its operations.  Your funds to help us get books, seed and nursery catalogs, and journals unique to our collection. Benefactors ensure our library's ability to educate and inspire.

Make a gift or become a Friend of AHL today.

Explore ways to give

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