Earlier this year we attended a presentation by a young man to the gathering that was sponsored by the Manchester Master Gardeners. This very well spoken young man was speaking on the attractions at Reiman Gardens this spring and summer. His stories and descriptions put a visit on our spring/summer agenda. We had been there years before for the sole purpose of visiting the Butterfly House and thoroughly enjoyed that visit and fully expected to enjoy this one as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
History: from the Reiman Gardens website at http://www.reimangardens.iastate.edu/index.cfm
“Iowa State University has had a horticulture garden since 1914. Reiman Gardens is the third location for the gardens. The first location was north of the Farm House at the Hort. Research Station in 1914. In the early 1960’s, the Gardens were moved to a ¾ acre site on the northeast corner of the Iowa State University campus north of the power plant. This particular site offered little room for expansion and was surrounded by the campus’s industrial zone.
In the early 1990’s, faculty in the Horticulture department and university administrators discussed the possibility of moving the gardens to a larger, more visible location to beautify the entrance to the city of Ames and Iowa State University. In 1993, alumnus, Roy Reiman and his wife Bobbi generously gave $1.3 million to initiate phase one of the new gardens. Construction began on Reiman Gardens in 1994 and was officially dedicated in 1995. At its opening, Reiman Gardens covered just five acres, which included the entry court, the herb garden, rose garden, the campanile garden, Mahlstede Horticulture Learning Center and a maintenance building. The Gardens have continued to grow over the last eight years to cover 14-acres. The most recent addition is the Conservatory Complex and Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing, which opened in November 2002.
Rodney Robinson Landscape Architects, a landscape architecture firm in Wilmington, DE, designed the Gardens. Robinson was selected because of his experience at other public gardens like Longwood Gardens and the Washington Mall. ISU faculty and staff were also active in the development of the Gardens’ master and planting plans.
Daryl Metzger, of Architects Smith Metzger in Des Moines, designed the buildings within the Gardens. The architecture reflects a Midwestern style, inspired by the state’s agricultural traditions. “
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We again negotiated without traveling Shih Tzu, Buddy, to stay at home. It would be too warm for him to safely wait in the car as we did our sightseeing. He was champ about it as he really doesn't like the heat. You try wearing a double coat everyday and see if the heat doesn't bother you as well. Breakfast was a “catch and run” from the Manchester Hardees and we were off on our adventure.
What a beautiful day. We thought when we headed out this morning that it was going to rain, but we never saw a drop. The sky just kept getting bluer all morning.
One of the things that this young man told everyone about was the dinosaur exhibit all through the gardens this spring until the end of July. There they were, all hiding in the flora and fauna. I don't think the fence would have been much protection, do you?
We both wanted to see the Buck Roses but found that we were about 2-3 weeks too early as most of them were just in the tight bud stage. So if you are thinking of the roses, plan your visit around mid-June. However, the irises were in full bloom.
Of course Den couldn't help hamming it up with the “dino”s. They even had one that was named after Bambi from the Walt Disney movies. I think they called it a Bambiasarus. Cute little guy with wings..................
One of the gardens that we especially enjoyed was the eatable garden. They even had recipes for what they were growing. As the weather heats up you might like to try this one at home.
Gazpacho (soup served cold)
8 lrg. tomatoes, peeled
1 lrg. cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 green bell pepper, cored and chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled
2 Tbsp. EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
2-4 Tbsp. white vinegar
In a blender. Blend garlic, cucumber, pepper and then add the tomatoes. Mix in the EVOO and vinegar with salt and pepper to taste. Serve chilled garnished with chopped cucumber, pepper and green onion. I am going to try it as soon as my tomatoes get ripe. Well, maybe I will have to buy what I need.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
History: from the Reiman Gardens website at http://www.reimangardens.iastate.edu/index.cfm
“Iowa State University has had a horticulture garden since 1914. Reiman Gardens is the third location for the gardens. The first location was north of the Farm House at the Hort. Research Station in 1914. In the early 1960’s, the Gardens were moved to a ¾ acre site on the northeast corner of the Iowa State University campus north of the power plant. This particular site offered little room for expansion and was surrounded by the campus’s industrial zone.
In the early 1990’s, faculty in the Horticulture department and university administrators discussed the possibility of moving the gardens to a larger, more visible location to beautify the entrance to the city of Ames and Iowa State University. In 1993, alumnus, Roy Reiman and his wife Bobbi generously gave $1.3 million to initiate phase one of the new gardens. Construction began on Reiman Gardens in 1994 and was officially dedicated in 1995. At its opening, Reiman Gardens covered just five acres, which included the entry court, the herb garden, rose garden, the campanile garden, Mahlstede Horticulture Learning Center and a maintenance building. The Gardens have continued to grow over the last eight years to cover 14-acres. The most recent addition is the Conservatory Complex and Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing, which opened in November 2002.
Rodney Robinson Landscape Architects, a landscape architecture firm in Wilmington, DE, designed the Gardens. Robinson was selected because of his experience at other public gardens like Longwood Gardens and the Washington Mall. ISU faculty and staff were also active in the development of the Gardens’ master and planting plans.
Daryl Metzger, of Architects Smith Metzger in Des Moines, designed the buildings within the Gardens. The architecture reflects a Midwestern style, inspired by the state’s agricultural traditions. “
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We again negotiated without traveling Shih Tzu, Buddy, to stay at home. It would be too warm for him to safely wait in the car as we did our sightseeing. He was champ about it as he really doesn't like the heat. You try wearing a double coat everyday and see if the heat doesn't bother you as well. Breakfast was a “catch and run” from the Manchester Hardees and we were off on our adventure.
What a beautiful day. We thought when we headed out this morning that it was going to rain, but we never saw a drop. The sky just kept getting bluer all morning.
One of the things that this young man told everyone about was the dinosaur exhibit all through the gardens this spring until the end of July. There they were, all hiding in the flora and fauna. I don't think the fence would have been much protection, do you?
We both wanted to see the Buck Roses but found that we were about 2-3 weeks too early as most of them were just in the tight bud stage. So if you are thinking of the roses, plan your visit around mid-June. However, the irises were in full bloom.
Of course Den couldn't help hamming it up with the “dino”s. They even had one that was named after Bambi from the Walt Disney movies. I think they called it a Bambiasarus. Cute little guy with wings..................
One of the gardens that we especially enjoyed was the eatable garden. They even had recipes for what they were growing. As the weather heats up you might like to try this one at home.
Gazpacho (soup served cold)
8 lrg. tomatoes, peeled
1 lrg. cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 green bell pepper, cored and chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled
2 Tbsp. EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
2-4 Tbsp. white vinegar
In a blender. Blend garlic, cucumber, pepper and then add the tomatoes. Mix in the EVOO and vinegar with salt and pepper to taste. Serve chilled garnished with chopped cucumber, pepper and green onion. I am going to try it as soon as my tomatoes get ripe. Well, maybe I will have to buy what I need.
There have been a few changes since our last visit that you should know as you plan your visit. They no longer have a canteen or cafeteria. We kind of missed that but it didn't hurt too much.
I always love the butterfly house. There are reputed to be 800 butterflies in it but we couldn't figure out how they could count them. Some are so huge that they would make a bat seem small in comparison and other so tiny you really had to watch closely to see them before they took wing and moved on. They do hitch-hike so if you go plan on checking yourself in a large mirror to be sure that one of the wee things isn't making a break for it disguised as a piece of jewelry.
On the way back to Manchester we treated ourselves to one of our favorite eat out places. There are some micro breweries in Iowa and some of them offer really tasty beer as well as some really fine eating. Our evening sustenance was at Granite City Brewery in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (http://www.gcfb.net/). I can't seem to pull myself away from the cheeseburger done my way and my way is bloody rare (I know I live dangerously) topped with lettuce, tomato and red onion with Dijon mustard and a fat dill pickle wedge on the side. I love the waffle fries but they are no included in the price and the skinny fries that come with the sandwich are great. With this I always have an "Admiral" (A blend of two different lagers and served with a wedge of orange). The service is great, the meat tastes like it was freshly ground just of my sandwich (now, be real, who would go to that much trouble just for me?). We were seated right away which doesn't always happen as Granite City Brewery is a very popular spot. Don't expect Hardees’s prices but without dessert and including my "Admiral" the bill was just over $25.00. Den had some kind of chicken popper where the chicken strips were seasoned with among other things, Tabasco, wrapped in pastry dough and deep fried. This came with a blue cheese sauce (Den has never met a blue cheese he doesn't like) and a salad of matchstick cut fresh pea pods (I ate these as Den is allergic to legumes), crisp lettuce and some red cabbage for color. He also enjoyed a cup of their Cheddar Cheese w/stout soup which he allowed me to taste. OH, Margie, we have to learn to make that one as well.
OK, to the above remarks, you will find that I will give you my take on any eating out that we do. I love to cook and even started my own blog at my cousin's request. The address for the blog is http://whatscookingwithlinda.blogspot.com/. If by chance you want to see the pieces that I have sent in to the Manchester Press, those can be viewed on blog http://iowa44.blogspot.com/.
Hope to see you out around the next corner enjoying yourself in this great state of Iowa and maybe a bit beyond.
God Bless,
Linda
No comments:
Post a Comment