A rendering of a new arch to welcome visitors heading north on Robert D. Ray Drive. (Rendering: Simonson & Associates Architects)
By Michael Morain
Last week leaders at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden announced a new $9 million capital campaign, for which they’ve already raised more than $8 million dollars. It was a little like asking someone to tend a garden where the tomatoes are already red and juicy.
“It’s been such an amazing experience,” Botanical Garden president and CEO Kim Perez said of the campaign, which started quietly last April. “It really speaks to the depth of engagement from our patrons and the role we play in the community. It’s been a really positive and humbling experience.”
The campaign, called “Welcome, Gather, Grow,” will enable the nonprofit organization to make the site more accessible, enlarge its event spaces and develop a bit more of its property along the east bank of the Des Moines River.
Earlier, there were plans to develop the remaining six acres from the garden’s north edge up to University Avenue, but that project will have to wait for another growing season. To explain the shift in priorities, Perez retraced the Botanical Garden’s history:
1979: The Des Moines Botanical Center opened and was managed by the city’s parks and rec department.
2004: Des Moines Water Works took over the site’s operations.
2013: A new nonprofit called the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden formed to oversee the site. The city closed the north end of Robert D. Ray Drive, clearing the way for the garden’s northward expansion.
2021: The city leased the Robert D. Ray Asian Garden to the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, expanding its total footprint to 12 acres.
“The way we use the space today is very different from how we used it when it opened,” Perez said. “Back then, we didn’t have any outdoor gardens, and now they’re such a big part of what we do.”
She noted the Botanical Garden hosts more events, more activities for families and more outdoor gatherings, even after the sun goes down. The facility annually attracts about 150,000 visitors from all 50 states even though, Perez noted, it’s a little hard to find.
The proposed changes could help. The capital campaign will fund, among other things:
• A colorful entrance arch on the south side of the Interstate 235 overpass, plus new wayfinding and educational signs throughout the facility. Perez estimates the arch will be installed in late 2026 or early 2027, pending approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Iowa Department of Transportation.
• A renovated lobby with separate access to the gardens, the garden shop and Flora, the in-house restaurant.
• New free-access gardens.
• Enhancements to the Gardeners Show House and North Gallery for horticultural workshops and other events. For these updates, these spaces will close from mid-May through early October.
A few changes have already taken place. After the capital campaign’s successful quiet launch last spring, colored lights were installed last July to light up the giant dome over the conservatory.
For Perez, they signaled the Botanical Garden’s rising profile in the community. As she put it, “All of these components are really about making sure we’re evolving to accommodate the way we’re already using the space.”
The slate of proposed changes to the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden include an expanded lobby, above, with separate access to the gardens, gift shop and restaurant, and an updated entrance, below. (Renderings: Simonson & Associates Architects)
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