Dedication of the new children’s garden addition to Iowa State’s Reiman Gardens will take place this Saturday at 10:30 a.m. in the garden.

The quarter-acre children’s garden, an outdoor Iowa-themed educational facility, has been under construction since August after beginning design stages early last year.

Howell said there are about 1,500 guests invited to the dedication, including donors and children who helped with the construction of the garden. The event also will be open to the public.

Iowa State President Martin Jischke, the horticulture department head and director of Reiman Gardens Michael Chaplin, and Roy and Bobbi Reiman, for whom the original garden was named, are among the speakers for the dedication. There also will be an appearance by the Des Moines Children’s Chorus.

Nick Howell, garden superintendent, said a children’s garden has been in the plans of Reiman Gardens since the gardens were planned in 1993. The children’s garden was part of the second phase of additions planned for the gardens.

“We want to teach children at a very young age about plants,” he said. “Gardening is very therapeutic, and it’s a wonderful way of getting people involved.”

Howell said the Iowa-themed garden is designed to be a teaching facility, although there are playground features to it.

“Our ultimate goal is to create a learning facility for the very young,” he said.

In addition to interesting plants, the children’s garden includes several sub-gardens and play areas.

There is a butterfly garden; a scarecrow garden with unusual plants such as sunflowers and peanuts; an ABC garden has plants labeled in alphabetical order; a stream garden with a covered bridge and waterfall; a maze garden with a gazebo in the center; and a topiary garden including a corral with a mare and colt.

The project also includes a storytime amphitheater that seats 30 children, a corn crib pavilion for outdoor teaching, a sod structure, and grass-covered tumble mounds for kids to play on.

Chaplin said some of the ideas for the children’s garden came from ISU students in landscape architecture.

Howell said the planning involved “creative ways to get children involved.”

Nevada second- and fourth-graders put hand and nature prints in the cement of a plaza surrounding the garden, and Ames elementary students were involved in planting the scarecrow garden.

Howell said the garden already is getting a lot of use, and kids “have a real love and care for it.”

Chaplin said he hopes to continue to involve children with future work on the garden.

“There will be a continuing educational focus not only during planting, but throughout the year,” he said.

Howell said the Iowan agricultural theme distinguishes this garden from others.

“We didn’t want to create a garden that you would see any other place,” he said.

Howell said he feels a personal connection to the agricultural theme of the garden and thinks the garden will evoke similar feelings in other adults.

“It’s a lot of fun for me because there are a lot of things about it that I had when I was a kid growing up on a farm,” Howell said. “It’s a children’s garden, but I’m guessing half of our visitors are going to be adults.”

Funding for the addition came from a $1 million anonymous donation to be used specifically for the children’s garden, half of which was used for construction and half which has gone into a maintenance fund for future care of the garden.

Chaplin said 14 acres are available to Reiman Gardens, but currently only four to five of those acres have been developed.

He said the children’s garden and a town and country garden, which focuses on home and landscape construction ideas, are part of the second phase of the construction of Reiman Gardens.

The town and country garden is currently in the design stages and is projected to be completed next summer.

Reiman Gardens, including the children’s garden, is open from dawn till dusk but Howell asks that parents come with their children.

“[We] want it to be a fun and safe visit for the kids,” he said.