Spring has been blooming at the Des Moines Botanical Center for months now, and the weather outside is finally catching up.

To help the season along a bit, the center is displaying a few flower shows throughout April and May for your viewing pleasure.

Starting today, “Classy Calendulas” will brighten up the flower beds in front of the center. These flowers are vibrantly hued and range from orange to yellow in color.

All visitors to the center will receive a fact sheet, packed full of information useful to cultivating calendulas in your own backyard.

“Summer Sunshine” will light up the walkways underneath the dome through the end of May. From every nook and cranny inside the center, vivid summer colors of pink, red, yellow, orange and white will fill the whole place with warmth.

The flowers featured include New Guinea impatiens, dwarf dahlias, rudbeckia and coleus. Even the stems of the impatiens are colorful.

The last exhibit was inspired by a great French impressionist painter. “Monet’s Garden” will be on display through May 26. The display will feature a variety of brightly blooming perennials.

In order to mimic the natural sequence of bloom that occurs in nature over the course of the exhibit, a diverse assortment of vividly hued flowering plants will appear.

This will give “Monet’s Garden” an ever-changing look, with splashes of yellow, orange, blue, white, purple and red sparkling under the dome.

The Des Moines Botanical Center is located at 909 East River Dr., in Des Moines. Open hours are Monday through Thursday, from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. and 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Admission for college students with ID is a mere 50 cents. For more information, call 242-2934.