Situated along Fleming Creek, the Matthaei Botanical Gardens' 350 acres include four nature trails, mature woodlands, wetlands, several ponds, and a tall grass prairie.

The Conservatory, which houses more than 1,200 unusual and exotic plants from around the world, has three “houses” designed to exhibit the tremendous diversity of the plant world: tropical, warm-temperate, and arid. All three houses use a natural method (as opposed to chemical sprays) to control insects - the Integrated Pest Management Program (IPM). In this approach, beneficial insects are selectively released to control the populations of harmful bugs.