Reiman’s Picks

AMES, Iowa— Local growers, in conjunction with the Ames Main Street Farmers’ Market, and Reiman Gardens, are collaborating to combat hunger with the Plant A Row for the Hungry initiative. This summer, those forces will combine to donate more than 10,000 pounds of produce to the Plant A Row for […]

Hydrangeas have been around North America longer than the U.S. has existed. These flowers have fossils that date back to 40 million years ago found in North America, showing they’ve been growing and surviving here for quite some time. Hydrangeas were originally cultivated in Japan, and they did not appear […]

With its elegant architecture, delightful, lacy foliage, and impressive floral display, Thalictrum, or meadow rue, is a plant that is not to be overlooked. The enchanting meadow rue is within Ranunculaceae, a rather dream-like plant family that boasts genera including Aquilegia (columbine), Anemone, Delphinium (larkspur), and Ranunculus (buttercup). The genus […]

This fabulous plant was first found in 1773 as collector William Bartram travelled through South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The species was introduced further by British horticultural trade and eventually gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. Aesculus parviflora is a deciduous, suckering shrub that grows to be […]

Ginkgo biloba, also known as the maidenhair tree, is a living fossil that can be grown in your backyard. These unique trees date back to more than 270 million years ago, before dinosaurs existed. Since then, not much has changed in the morphology of these trees. The ginkgo lineage used […]

From the rocky slopes towering above the Brazilian city of Rio de Janiero comes the Alcantarea ‘Imperialis’ otherwise known as the Imperial Bromeliad. This species of bromeliad belongs to the Alacantarea genus, which is named for the second Emperor of Brazil, Dom Pedro d’Alcântara. When found in the wild, a […]

Victoria ‘Longwood Hybrid’ Nutt is a hybrid lily developed by Patrick Nutt of Longwood Gardens in 1961. Patrick used two species, V. cruziana and V. amazonica, while leaning more toward characteristics of cruziana. The Longwood Hybrid is more hardy than both parents and blooms about 10 days before while also […]

The Formal Lawn Garden houses a wide variety of shrubs and trees, but one tree that people may miss is the Eastern Larch. Eastern Larch, also known as tamarack, has historically been harvested for its wood to be used for snowshoes. This is due to its strength and flexibility. Eastern […]

It’s wedding season, and one of our popular ceremony areas is the Jones Rose Garden. Brides like to walk under the pergola which is covered in beautiful Kentucky Wisteria. Kentucky Wisteria is similar to American Wisteria, however it produces flowers after only two to three years which makes it the […]

Daylily’s, which are most commonly known as Hemerocallis which means “beautiful for a day” (Charlotte’s Daylily Diary – Daylily History). That is translated in the Greek language because daylily’s only bloom for one day. These beautiful plants were found around Asia in the 16th century. They were then introduced to […]