Spring Garden Festival 2017

Thursday, May 11 2017 thru Sunday, May 14 2017

The Spring Garden Festival is the Botanical Garden's signature opportunity to celebrate gardening in Iowa. This four-day, pop-up retail festival includes nearly 500 limited edition varieties of plants, garden art and merchandise plus educational sessions and family-friendly garden activities. The festival is held in the outdoor gardens as well as in the North Gallery. Seasonal cost of admission applies.  

                 Thursday, May 11 - Opening Night Ticketed Event

Celebrate the season at the 4th annual Spring Garden Festival opening night cocktail party!

• Opportunity to purchase limited edition plant varieties
• Live music by Rob Ankum Trio
• Hors d’oeuvres by The Tangerine Food Company
• Expert potting services available for your plant purchases

Proceeds from Spring Garden Festival support year-round educational programming for students of all ages.

Purchase tickets for Opening Night here!

                 Friday, May 12 - National Public Gardens Day

8-10 a.m.                          
Members-only event, featuring early bird access to plant sale and continental breakfast.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m.             
Plant sale open to the public with expert sales staff on hand to assist. In addition, the container design station will be available to arrange & pot your selections for you! 

10:30 & 11:00 a.m.          
Live Gardening Demonstration - Trees & Shrubs with Josh Schultes 

3:30 & 4:00 p.m.              
Live Gardening Demonstration - Shade Garden Kits with Kelly Norris

                 Saturday, May 13

10 a.m. to 5 p.m.              
Plant sale open to the public with expert sales staff on hand to assist. In addition, the container design station will be available to arrange & pot your selections for you! Youth activities include:

Mother’s Day Cards with Fruit and Veggie Stamping
Botanical Face Painting
Flower Tic-Tac-Toe
Botanical Garden Plant Memory
Spring Flowers Coloring Station
ISU Insect Zoo Demonstrations

10 a.m. to 5 p.m.             
Garden Art and Merchandise Fair

10:30 & 11:00 a.m.                                                                                                                                                                Live Gardening Demonstration - Indoor Plants with Elvin McDonald

10:30 a.m. to Noon          
Family Workshop - Terrariums with Lilah Anderson, Botanical Garden Youth & Family Coordinator - REGISTRATION FULL - (for ages 4-17 and an adult) Join us for one of our most popular classes to design and plant a small-scale ecosystem.

3:30 & 4:00 p.m.              
Live Gardening Demonstration - Vegetable Gardening 101 with Susan Meylor

                 Sunday, May 14 - Mother's Day

10 a.m. to 3 p.m.              
Plant sale open to the public with expert sales staff on hand to assist. In addition, the container design station will be available to arrange & pot your selections for you! Youth activities include:

Mother’s Day Cards with Fruit and Veggie Stamping
Botanical Face Painting
Flower Tic-Tac-Toe
Botanical Garden Plant Memory
Spring Flowers Coloring Station

10 a.m. to 3 p.m.             
Garden Art and Merchandise Fair

10:30 & 11:00 a.m.          
Live Gardening Demonstration - Terrariums with Whitney Bouma

10:30 a.m. to Noon
Family Workshop - Flower Crowns with Rachel Berndt, Botanical Garden Guest Experience Assistant Manager and Owner of The Potager - (for ages 4-17 and an adult) Learn about a variety of flowers and then create a beautiful, handmade flower crown.
What better way to celebrate Mother’s Day!                                                                                                                              Members $20 Youth/Adult Pair, $10 Additional Youth                                                                                                 Nonmembers $25 Youth/Adult Pair, $15 Additional Youth     

2017 Spring Garden Festival Garden Art & Merchandise Fair Vendors

• Bridges Coffee
• Botanical Garden Shop
• Deb Anderson Pottery
• Diane Mattern Sculpture
• Gelato by Chocolaterie Stam
• Little Woods: Herbs and Teas
• Popcorn Heaven
• Rich Voss Woodworking
• Rolling B Signs & Designs
• Steel & Stone
• Studio C Design Co.
• Wild Things & Cornstalk Dreams

Thank you to our 2017 Spring Garden Festival Opening Night Sponsors:

PREMIER
Country Landscapes, Inc.
Brenda and Bernie Mouw

GOLD
Mary Kay and Doug Bruce
Gilcrest/Jewett
Kemin Industries, Inc.
Cynde and Richard Schreiber

SILVER
Joyce and Rick Chapman
Shayla and Joel From
Hillyard – Des Moines
LMC Insurance & Risk Management
Christine and Rob Sand 
Susan and Carl Voss
West Bank

BRONZE
Mary and Dale Andringa
Bailey Nurseries, Inc.
Cindy and Kent Brady
Ed and Sue Kenny
McGowen Hurst Clark & Smith, P.C.
Stephen Orr
Megan and Steve Will

SUPPORTER
Kathryn Bernau
Lisa and Tim Bianco
Nancy Bone
Michelle Book
Martha Henrichs
Storey Kenworthy
Katie and Martin Walsh
Deb Wiley and John Schmidt

IN-KIND 
Airport Signs & Graphics
Bailey Nurseries, Inc.
Bella Flora
Chocolaterie Stam
Coca-Cola Atlantic Bottling Company
Fareway Stores, Inc.
Ivory House Photography
Principal 
Sigler
Trellis Catering  
Walter’s Gardens
Whole Foods
The Tangerine Food Company

 

Event Category: Plant & Bulb Sales Adult Education