Idaho Botanical Garden, Boise, Idaho

Idaho Botanical Garden located in Boise was started by Christopher Davidson. Davidson earned a PhD in botany. It was his vision that created the gardens in 1984 with a board of directors. The mission of the group was to form a place that would be interesting to visitors. They wanted visitors to learn how to garden, horticulture information, botany, and conservation. To do this the Botanical Garden had to collect a variety of plants. The Garden leases 33 acres of land from Idaho. They currently have 13.5 acres under cultivation. 17 acres is used for nature hikes and environmental education.

Visiting the Botanical Gardens can occur throughout the year. From April to October the gardens are open Monday- Friday 9am to 5pm, and weekends 10am to 6pm. Between November and March the gardens are open 9am to 5pm on the weekdays, and noon to 4pm on the weekends. Admission for adults is $4, $3 for seniors and $2 for children 6 to 12 years old. The park has a membership as well.

The owners of the Botanical Gardens are working on enlarging the park and enhancing it for visitors. The education center will be a multipurpose facility for social, business, and educational functions. A lobby with gallery, offices, education room, storage, kitchen and restrooms already fill the space. They are working on adding a gift shop, coffee shop, library, and more office space.

The Children's Garden is a place for kids and families to discover plants. All ages can walk through the plant world learning the various names, species, and other aspects of the plants. They can look, touch, smell, dig, and move some of the displays for better education. There is a shallow water enclosure for the children to launch leaf boats. Vine covered huts; buried treasure sand box, sensory garden, and even a vegetable garden are in the Children's Garden. The purpose is not only one of education, but to teach kids where food actually comes from.

A conservatory helps to expand the teaching opportunities the center has available. It is especially helpful in the winter, when the rest of the gardens are covered with snow. The conservatory has light and heat to help the plants thrive. It is expected that the Botanical Gardens will add exotic plants to their display.

Other displays at the Idaho Botanical Gardens include an Alpine Garden, Garden Woods, Herb Garden, Foothills Native Plant Garden, Herbaceous Border and Historical Iris Collection. The Alpine Garden offers a rock area with diverse plants one normally finds at the alpine altitudes. Garden Woods is more about a forest where you can picnic among beautiful trees. The trees were planted by the Old Idaho State Penitentiary inmates. There are 18 different garden areas overall at the Idaho Botanical Gardens. The most enjoyable for children besides the Children's Garden is the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth is a Celtic creation made with hedges. It is meant to be a meditation area for peace and rejuvenation. The Outlaw Field was created in the 1930's for the inmates to play baseball games.