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Welcome
Friends of Jensen-Olson Arboretum is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the projects and programs of the Jensen-Olson Arboretum, Southeast Alaska’s outstanding public garden and national primrose collection.
Caroline Jensen donated the historical arboretum property at 23-mile Glacier Highway to the City and Borough of Juneau. The arboretum was opened to the public in 2007 and has evolved into a garden destination and a living laboratory featuring over 1200 native and cultivated species.
The arboretum embodies Caroline’s vision of a garden that inspires learning in horticulture, natural sciences, and landscaping while preserving its beauty for aesthetic enjoyment and maintaining the historical and cultural context. Caroline’s garden is protected by a conservation easement held by the Southeast Alaska Land Trust so that her garden will remain for future generations to enjoy its beauty.
Caring for Caroline's Garden
Friends of Jensen-Olson Arboretum supports the projects and programs of the Arboretum through fundraising, public outreach, education, and organizing volunteer service at the Arboretum.
Fundraising activities have included wine tastings, raffles, and sale of arboretum plants, baseball caps with the arboretum logo and commemorative bricks through our online store. Click to read more about our history.
The Arboretum Field Guide
Events Calendar
Jun
24
Jul
16
Jul
16
Activities at the Garden
Whether you are seeking a peaceful retreat, a place to spend time with family, or inspiration for your own garden, the arboretum has something for everyone.
Education
Natural Sciences
Horticulture
Relaxation
Word Garden
Point Caroline Trail
Education
The Arboretum seeks to enhance visitors’ experience of the natural world and the garden’s cultural setting through its interpretive signage and programs. Family programs, such as Family Beach Day and Bug Day, focus on youth exploration. The planting and harvesting of Tlingit potatoes by Tlingit immersion students provide a tangible connection to indigenous culture. Adult programs, such as painting and plant division workshops are also offered. In addition, video productions introduce the arboretum and its history, as well as horticultural techniques.
In the picture: Group exploring the beach during Seaweek
Natural Sciences
The arboretum sparks curiosity among visitors of all ages from youth searching for insects and intertidal life, to university and government investigators who have used the garden to research Alaskan bee species, ethnobotany, and hummingbird movement.
In the picture: A hummingbird is gently measured, weighed and banded (photo by Merrill Jensen)
Horticulture
The garden is a showplace for landscaping techniques, horticultural demonstration projects, and the wide range of plants that can be grown in our temperate rainforest. From the Primula species and cultivars in the nationally accredited primrose collection recognized by the American Public Gardens Association, to the productive vegetable garden, the possibility for inspiration seems boundless. See what may inspire the gardener in you.
In the picture: Flower bed with pink and white primula in spring.
Relaxation
At the Arboretum, pure aesthetic enjoyment is essential to the experience. Walk the gardens, engage your creative side in photography or plein air painting, watch for marine life over a picnic. It is the perfect place to refresh your spirit with the beauty of nature.
In the picture: Blue hosta in front of two blue chairs in the garden.
Word Garden
Enjoy word play in a gorgeous setting by arranging rocks to create messages or poetry. This feature is multi-lingual with stones engraved in Tlingit, Tagalog, Spanish and English languages.
In the picture: Children gathered around rocks with different words on them for the Word Garden.
Point Caroline Trail
This ¼ mile trail from the Arboretum parking lot to a scenic view of Favorite Channel provides a moderate hike though the native vegetation of the temperate rainforest dominated by western hemlock (Tusga heterophylla) and Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis). The stumps of these trees suggest timber was cut during the days of the Peterson homestead for buildings or firewood. Early and Alaskan blueberries (Vaccinium ovalifolium and V. alaskaense) as well as red huckleberries (V. parvifolium) are common along the trail and in forest openings. The trail, in part, follows a route that once connected the Jensen-Olson property to Huffman Harbor.
In the picture: Point Caroline Trail Entry. photo by Ginger Hudson.
