The garden features identified rocks among attractive plants. All of the rocks are labeled. Rocks are generally made up of aggregates of minerals, are not the emphasis of exhibits in the main building of the museum. They are often not as visually stunning as minerals and are not generally sought by collectors, as individual minerals in rocks are often too small to see without a magnifier.

The rocks in the garden are mostly from the Great Lakes region. They are organized into the three major types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic around the concept of the rock cycle.

You can learn more about organization of rocks from the Great Lakes region, including a map in the: Guide to the Rocks in the Phyllis and John Seaman Garden.

More about the rock cycle is provided in the rock cycle simplified document.

The plants of the garden are not geographically restricted and some of them are labeled. The organization of the plants in the Phyllis and John Seaman Garden changes annually.