On this episode of Growing at Reiman Gardens, Assistant Director, Lisa Orgler, and Entomology Intern, Renee Zbynski, introduce the Gnome Sweet Gnome exhibit. The exhibit, part of the Garden's 2010 theme year Celebration of Garden Ornamentation, features a 15-foot tall, 3,500 pound concrete gnome. There are also many smaller replicas, each uniquely decorated by local schools, businesses and community members.
The gnomes will be on display until mid-October, while the giant gnome will remain in the Gardens as a semi-permanent display.
On this episode of Growing at Reiman Gardens, Jeremy Orr, Iowa State University student and summer gardener, demonstrates how to prepare a compost tea that is great for your vegetable garden. All you need is water, ordinary aquarium supplies, and good compost for a totally organic fertilizer.
On this episode of Growing at Reiman Gardens, Education & Plant Collections Coordinator, Aaron Steil, discusses the 2009 summer display called "Dinosaurs and other Common Garden Pests". Over 20 realistic dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures welcome visitors this summer, including an enormous Maisaura coyly eyeing motorists and guests at the south end of the Gardens, a 9-foot African crocodile nesting in the water and an Allosaurus family running around Lake Helen. The Dinosaurs were on display at the gardens from May 1st until July 31st of 2009.
On this episode of Growing at Reiman Gardens, Butterfly Wing Curator, Nathan Brockman, discusses the rare gynandromorphic leopard lacewing (Cethosia cyane) that was flown in the Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing during May 2008. A nondisjunction of chromosomes that occurs during some stage of cell division results in the development of these rare butterflies. Since the opening of the butterfly wing in 2002, over 100,000 butterflies have been flown, but this is the one and only individual of its kind to be received by Reiman Gardens.
On this episode of Growing at Reiman Gardens, Outdoor Horticulturist, Sarah Rummery, demonstrates the proper way to prune deciduous flowering shrubs. Before beginning, make sure you know whether your shrub is considered old wood (lilacs, verbena, witch hazel) or new wood (Hydrangea paniculata, H. arborescens, calacarpa). This will determine an appropriate pruning time. To prune, start by cutting off any dead wood on the plant, then cut out any branches that are rubbing together or crossing to prevent damage.
On this episode of Growing at Reiman Gardens, Indoor Horticulturist, Betsy Eness, guides you through many creative ways to wrap and bag your holiday gifts in sustainable materials. Reusing fabrics from discarded clothing and samples, wallpaper, newspaper, and dressing up old gift bags are great ways to elegantly wrap gifts and also add a personal touch to the holiday season.
On this episode of Growing at ReimanGardens, Indoor Horticulturist, Betsy Eness, guides you through many creative ways to wrap and bag your holiday gifts in sustainable materials. Reusing fabrics from discarded clothing and samples, wallpaper, newspaper, and dressing up old gift bags are great ways to elegantly wrap gifts and also add a personal touch to the holiday season.
In this edition of Growing at Reiman Gardens, Lisa Harmison discusses the volunteer efforts of the Story County chapter of Plant a Row for the Hungry, a program which provides extra produce to needy families. Donations are collected from the local Farmer's Market, as well as from area gardeners. In the past three years the Story County program has collected over 13,000 pounds of produce. Sponsors of PAR include the Story County Master Gardeners Association, the Ames Garden Club, the ISU Horticulture Club, Alpha Copies, and Reiman Gardens. In Ames, produce will be collected on Mondays 7:00 - 8:30 a.m. at the Reiman Gardens maintenance building. Collected produce is distributed to Bethesda Community Food Pantry, Mid Iowa Community Action (MICA) Food Pantry, ACCESS, and to Food at First (First United Methodist Church community meals).
In this special episode of Growing at Reiman Gardens, our 2008 Summer Interns (Kayla Kling, Maria Olson, Ximena Cibils, Tyler Baird, and Emily Thomsen) explore the wonderful world of willow. Willow trees are native throughout the United States and can typically be found along creek beds and wetland areas. Willow wood is generally soft and flexible, making it an ideal medium for artists seeking to create original, artistic features. Two central Iowa artists, Pam Dennis and Rick Weis, created many of the willow sculptures that can be viewed at the gardens. Pam and Rick invited the interns to experience a willow hunt first hand and provided tips for picking the best willow for any project.
In this week's edition of Growing at ReimanGardens, Butterfly Wing Curator, Nathan Brockman, highlights various butterfly feeding methods used in the Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing. These methods may be adapted for use in any garden. Many butterflies prefer feeding from nectar plants, such as the Common Lantana (Lantana camara), Egyptian Star Cluster (Pentas lanceolata), Coral Vine (Antigonon leptopus), Porterweed (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis), Flame of the Woods (Ixora coccinea), Panama Rose (Rondeletia leucophylla), and the Pygmy Melon (Psiguria umbrosa). Other feeding methods used at ReimanGardens include preparing artificial nectars of sugar water and pollen or a dilute Gatorade solution, rotten fruit, and sap blocks. Butterflies will also display a behavior called puddling, in which individuals will take in minerals and salts from moist areas.
It is spring-time once again and it is time to get that garden into shape! On this episode of Growing at Reiman Gardens, outdoor horticulturist, Sarah Rummery, takes us through the basics of cutting back perennials and grounds covers. She will also show us how to trim the perfect rose bush that will not only look beautiful, but be less prone to fungal disease. Finally, we will see a few good ways to cut down ornamental grasses.
On this episode of Growing at ReimanGardens, Butterfly Wing Curator, Nathan Brockman, explains the fascinating nightly dance that the butterflies partake in each night in the Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing.
The butterflies from the Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing display mentioned in the video include; Zebra Longwing (Heliconious charitonius), Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes), and the Giant Wood Nymph (Idea leuconoe).
This episode of Growing at ReimanGardens is all about winter interest in the garden. Aaron Steil, Education & Plant Collections Coordinator at the Gardens shows us some of the plants and garden areas at ReimanGardens that are making the gardens a beautiful place despite the snow. Learn about some of the characteristics to look for in plants that make them good additions to the winter landscape and see some specific species and cultivars growing at the Gardens helping to make it a striking and interesting place year-round.
