Reiman Gardens Facts for Kids

Reiman Gardens is a large public garden at Iowa State University (ISU) in Ames, Iowa. It covers 17 acres and is open all year round. People of all ages can enjoy its beautiful plants, fun events, and interesting classes. Reiman Gardens is one of the most popular places to visit in Central Iowa.

The gardens are open seven days a week, usually from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm. During summer, they stay open longer. They are closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Students from ISU and garden members can enter for free. Other visitors pay a small fee.

Reiman Gardens has many different garden areas, an indoor plant house called a conservatory, and a special indoor area for butterflies. There's also a gift shop and greenhouses where plants are grown.

The Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing is a popular spot.

Building the Gardens
Yearly Themes
What You Can See
Images for kids
See also

Building the Gardens

Iowa State University has had gardens for a long time, since 1914. Reiman Gardens is the third garden location for the university. The gardens you see today started in 1993. This was possible because of a generous gift from Bobbi and Roy Reiman.

Building work began in 1994. The first 5 acres of gardens officially opened on September 16, 1995. Rodney Robinson Landscape Architects designed the beautiful outdoor spaces. The Mahlstede Horticulture Learning Center was one of the first buildings.

In 2002, a large indoor complex opened. This made the gardens a place to visit all year. It includes a 5,000 square foot plant conservatory and a 2,500 square foot glass house filled with tropical plants and amazing butterflies. The complex also has an auditorium for classes, a gift shop, and staff offices. Later, in 2007, the gift shop moved, and the old space became a meeting area called The Garden Room.

Architects Smith Metzger designed several important buildings. These include the Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing, the Mahlstede Learning Center, the Conservatory Complex, and the Hunziker Garden House.

The Garden Campanile stands tall in the gardens.

Yearly Themes

Every year, Reiman Gardens chooses a special theme. This theme helps guide everything they do, from plant displays to educational programs and events. It's like telling a new story with the gardens each year!

The staff works together to make sure all parts of the gardens fit the theme. This helps visitors see the gardens in a new way each time they come. It also helps the garden staff come up with new and exciting ideas for plants and activities.

Here are some of the past themes:

2003 - Year of the Butterfly
2004 - Seasons of Agriculture
2005 - Global Garden (Gardens from around the world)
2006 - Art of Gardening (Gardening as art)
2007 - Excellence in Bloom (Celebrating ISU's 150th birthday)
2008 - The Novel Garden (Gardens inspired by books)
2009 - The Landscape Before Time (Plants and insects from long ago)
2010 - Celebration of the Garden Ornamentation (Fun garden decorations)
2011 - Insects! (Learning about insects)
2012 - Some Assembly Required (How things are put together)
2013 - More than Meets the Iowa (Celebrating Iowa)
2014 - 2014: A Garden Odyssey (Space and sci-fi)
2015 - Celebrating Our Past and Future (The Gardens' 20th anniversary)
2016 - Color
2017 - Water (Featured sculptures of sea creatures made from ocean trash)
2018 - Movement
2019 - Toys and Games
2020 - Wild & Whimsical

What You Can See

Reiman Gardens has many cool places to explore. Here are some of the main attractions:

Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing - This 2,500 square foot indoor tropical garden is full of exotic and local butterflies. You can see butterflies from six different continents flying around! It's named after Roy Reiman's mother, Christina.

Conservatory Complex - This large 5,000 square foot indoor area has tropical plants and seasonal plant displays. These displays change several times a year, so there's always something new to see. The complex also has a gift shop and restrooms.

Hunziker Garden House - This building looks like a prairie-style home. It's named after Marge Hunziker. It has a big workroom used for programs, meetings, and storage. It also serves as a beautiful background for the Town and Country Gardens around it.

Dunlap Courtyard Garden - This garden features annual plants and catalpa trees.

Helen Latch Jones Rose Gardens - This area is dedicated to beautiful roses.

Evelyn Stempel Maze Garden - Get ready to get lost (and found!) in this fun maze made of plants.

Roy and Mary Amos Smith Hardwood Forest - This area is growing into a thick grove of maple, oak, and other trees. You can find it in the northeast part of the gardens.

Mahlstede Horticulture Learning Center - Named after an ISU professor, John P. Mahlstede, this building is used for classes and events. It has amazing glass walls that offer sweeping views of the gardens.

Rose Gardens - With over 2,000 rose plants and 254 different kinds, this garden is a treat for your senses! It even won a special award called the All-America Rose Selections (AARS) President's Award. You can see special "Buck Roses" from Iowa State University, which are strong and resist diseases. There are also many other types of roses, including old-fashioned ones and modern ones.

Class of 1955 Hillside Garden - This garden is named after the ISU Class of 1955. It's being planned to offer great views of the outdoor areas as it goes up a hill.

Joey and Jesse's Herb Garden - This garden has a cool geometric design with herbs in raised beds. In spring, you'll see tulips, and in summer, the display changes each year.

Lake Helen - This lake is home to over 12 kinds of hybrid Victoria waterlilies and two Euryales, which are also a type of waterlily.

Fr. Supple Courtyard and the CoHorts' Dancing Chimes Plaza - Next to the herb garden, this plaza has special tiles on the ground. When you dance on the nine bronze tiles, they play musical chimes!

Margaret E. Penkhus Campanile Garden - This garden features a 50-foot steel structure with an electronic carillon, which is like a set of bells. It has a beautiful tulip display in spring and changes each year to match the gardens' theme.

Patty Jischke Children's Garden - This garden is designed with an Iowa farm theme. It has fun things like a stock tank, a scarecrow garden, a covered bridge, and a corn crib pavilion. There are also "Jonathan and Brenden's Knolls" and a stream garden.

South Field - This large area changes every year to match the gardens' annual theme. In the past, it has featured huge "quilt patterns" made from different plants. For example, in 2005, there was a 9-foot tall globe made of plants to show the "Global Garden" theme.

Stafford Garden - This area has old sycamore trees and a wooden boardwalk. It also has a wetland bog garden. Plans are to fill this area with many types of native Iowa grasses and plants. A new garden called Sycamore Falls is being built here.

Town and Country Garden - This area has 12 different demonstration gardens. These show common ways to use plants in your own yard. It's anchored by the Marge Hunziker Garden Home. Some of the gardens here include the Ross Formal Lawn Garden, the Outdoor Living Room, and the Shade Garden.