Reiman Gardens soon will have new sights to explore, but visitors will likely have to pay to see them.Teresa McLaughlin, program manager for the ISU Foundation, said three new features are being added to the gardens — a pond, the Town and Country Garden and the Arboretum Garden.”We have essentially doubled the size of the gardens,” she said.McLaughlin said the half-acre pond will include many kinds of aquatic plants. She said the Town and Country Garden is “an idea garden,” with 13 distinct gardens which, for example, would show a homeowner what to do with the shady side of the garden or how to plant a formal garden. McLaughlin said the Arboretum Garden is a recreation of the Iowa landscape.”That was all constructed last fall and will be planted this spring,” she said.McLaughlin said construction will begin this spring on a 30,000 square-foot complex with an indoor conservatory, butterfly house, gift shop, cafe and a large meeting room. Although the gardens are under construction, they are is still open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday during the winter months, and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily during the spring and summer.Murray Blackwelder, vice president for External Affairs, said the conservatories will not be completed until late fall 2002.”It’s an exciting time at the gardens,” he said. “We’re excited about where the growth is taking us.”The improvement projects will cost about $11.4 million. In order to visit the new and existing features at Reiman Gardens, visitors will likely be paying an admission charge starting in May, McLaughlin said.Based on the average price of other university gardens and what the Reiman Gardens have to offer, McLaughlin said the cost will probably be $5 for adults, $3 for youth 18 years and under, and free for children 5 years and under. She also said the gardens will also have annual memberships for people to purchase unlimited access to the gardens.Blackwelder said these passes will probably cost about $35 a year, and there will likely be free days for visitors not wanting to pay admission.The cost of caring for the gardens and the additions have made it necessary to collect fees, Blackwelder said. He also said the butterfly conservatory is a major expenditure, and the utilities will be costly.McLaughlin said Reiman Gardens currently has a staff of four, and an admission fee is necessary to expand the staff.”It’s just part of our growth,” she said. “It’s really hard to run a facility with just four of us.”Although the university is subsidizing the gardens with about $400,000 a year, McLaughlin said the ISU Foundation doesn’t expect the university to pick up the entire cost of the facility, especially with last year’s cut from the Iowa Legislature.”We’d be irresponsible to expect the university to pick it up,” she said.She said most university gardens and other gardens charge visitors, but classes will still be able to use the gardens without paying the admission fee.”We want to have them use [the gardens] as a laboratory,” she said.