Just a little over a year ago, the first seed was planted at the Reiman Gardens. These days, the Gardens are packed with both plants and people. Some visitors come to expand their knowledge of horticulture and gardening, but most simply enjoy the quiet, welcoming beauty of the Reiman Gardens.

The Reiman Gardens are designed to educate and inspire gardeners and non-gardeners alike. This summer all the plants in the Gardens are being labeled with their scientific and common names, flowering time, hardiness, water requirements and light requirements. Additionally, Reiman Gardens CoHorts (volunteers) are often on hand to answer visitors’ questions.

Visitors interested in learning more about gardening and horticulture are invited to take part in a number of educational events throughout the summer. The Mahlstede Botanical Gardens frequently hosts informative lunches over the noon hour. Upcoming topics include Water Gardening, a Midwest Botanical Gardens Slide Show and the Iowa Master Gardener Program.

Groups of 20 or more can also sign up for guided tours of the Gardens. So far this year, more than 1,000 people from all over Iowa have participated in tours given by CoHort volunteers.

The Reiman Gardens is also sponsoring Garden Camp in conjunction with Ames Parks and Recreation. Twenty-four children from the ages of six to 11 are learning all about gardening. So far they’ve made “egg-heads” (cracked egg shells with grass hair) and planted seedlings.

On Saturday, July 13, from 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., the Reiman Gardens CoHorts will hold an Open House and Membership Drive at the Gardens. Tour Guides will be located around the Gardens to answer questions and provide information about the CoHort organization.

The Gardens were established on 14 acres of land just south of Cyclone Stadium/Jack Trice Field through a gift by Roy and Bobbi Reiman. The unique gardens provide a showcase environment for observing and appreciating a wide array of plants and trees. Visitors to the Gardens will find colorful displays of perennials and annuals, an herb garden, a rose garden, a wetland garden and a demonstration vegetable and fruit garden.

New to the Gardens this summer are the Wetland Garden and the Demonstration Vegetable and Fruit Garden. The Wetland Garden is a necessary drainage area for the Gardens that Gardens staff are transforming into native and exotic wetland displays. Linda Naeve, Education Director at the Reiman Gardens, points out that much of Iowa used to be wetland, so the Iowa climate is ideal for many of the plants.

The Demonstration Vegetable and Fruit Garden is comprised of a number of smaller gardens including the Salad Bowl, Rainbow of Peppers, Salsa Garden and the Vining Around Garden.

The Salad Bowl Garden contains everything visitors might use to whip up the perfect tossed-salad, including numerous varieties of lettuce, tomatoes, onions, peas, and carrots.

The Rainbow of Peppers is just that — a rainbow made up of pepper plants. The pepper plants are arranged so that the peppers progress from red varieties to orange, yellow, white, green, blue, purple, black and chocolate varieties. Flowers behind the peppers reflect the color scheme.

The Salsa Garden is stocked with enough varieties of hot peppers to set any visitor’s mouth on fire. Tomatoes, tomatillos and herbs are present to add spice to the mixture. Of course, blue corn for tortilla chips is also included.

The Vining Around Garden is a maze of vine plants including squash, baby squash and miniature pumpkins. Just behind the Vining Around Garden is a 40-foot long grape trellis holding 10 plants and a trellis holding six apple trees.

Perhaps the most breathtaking display at the Reiman Gardens is the Rose Garden. The roses are currently in the midst of their first peak of the summer. Visitors to the gardens will find themselves overwhelmed by the glorious colors and sweet smells of the hundreds of varieties of roses in the Griffith Buck Rose Collection. The roses will continue to bloom for the rest of the summer and peak two more times.

Also new to the Reiman Gardens this year is Ted Sitting Crow Garner’s carved steel sculpture titled “Totems,” which is on loan from the University Museum Collection as a part of the Art on Campus program. The sculpture is a tribute to totem poles of the Northwest coast culture and contains the animal figures of a bear, a beaver and a raven.

The Reiman Gardens are open to the public free of charge each day from sun-up to sun-down. The Mahlstede Center is open to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For information about visiting, touring the Gardens, or volunteering, call 294-2117.