Iowa Lavender Selected as Stop on Spring Garden Tour - Sunday June 12
Altrusa of Ames is hosting the Altrusa 2022 Spring Garden tour on Sunday June 12th from 10am to 5pm. The event is a fundraiser for local nonprofits that are selected through a grant application process. Tickets for the one day event are $20 and include access to four local gardens as well as Reiman Gardens.
The recipients of the donations include the Good Neighbor Emergency Assistance’s Homelessness Prevention Program, ChildServe’s Outdoor Enhancement Project, NAMI of Central Iowa’s Ending the Silence Program, and the Kate Mitchell Elementary School PTA’s Library Project.
At Iowa Lavender, some plants are just starting to bloom, others are coming starting to green up after a very long winter. Come see the different stages and early signs of what's to come.
Here are the stops:
Jessica and Jason Mortvedt/Iowa Lavender:
25016 Sand Hill Lane Trail, Ames. Lavender is a staple when it comes to relaxation. Iowa Lavender, owned by Jason and Jessica Mortvedt, is a boutique lavender farm just outside of Ames, where they grow, harvest and personally handcraft all of their lavender products. The farm features nearly 300 lavender plants, most of them planted in May of 2020. Iowa Lavender grows several different varieties of angustifolia and intermedia lavender - including two newly developed cultivars that produce stunning, huge lavender blooms.
Alice and Steve Moore:
2421 Dalton Circle, Ames.
Follow the yellow brick road to an entertainer's paradise. There are so many beautiful features at this property, beginning with a long, curving brick path with yellow pops of color. Check out the stone fire pit with a curved stone wall surrounding the seating area, then continue on to a patio with a dining table and chairs.
Carol and Paul Payne:
3137 Maplewood Road, Ames.
The Paynes moved to Ames in 1991 and moved into their new custom built home in 1992. Country Landscapes did the original plan for the landscaping and later again when the patio was added in the backyard. The original lot had no trees or bushes. Central Landscapes replaced part of the retaining wall with rocks and completed the new and larger deck last summer. They also helped clean up the derecho damage in the back yard, which included the loss of an autumn blaze maple.
Denise and Dean Biechler/Loya's Little House Bed and Breakfast:
56676 160th Street, Ames.
The gardens at Loya’s Little House Bed and Breakfast have a rich Story County history. The gardens were established in the 1950s by Dr. Austin and Loya Getz and continued by the Frank and Margaret Vance families until the farm was purchased by Denise and Dean Biechler in 2016. Visitors will enjoy a prairie planted in 1980 by the Getz and Vance families, their neighbors the Biechlers, and Story County Conservation Board. The prairie yields to old red cedar trees planted by Mrs. Getz’s dad in 1943. Visitors will want to scale the hand placed steps and rocks that flank either side of the tiered gardens, a project started by Getz after the construction of their new home in 1957.
Reiman Gardens:
1407 S. University Blvd, Ames.
Reiman Gardens, situated on 17 acres, offers visitors numerous distinct gardens that are ever-changing and evolving. Spring is a great time for you to view a large variety of plants not only outdoors but also inside the tropical Conservatory. Check out the 2,500-square-foot Butterfly Wing that features 800 butterflies in flight. And pay a visit to Elwood, the World’s Largest Concrete Garden Gnome. "Home" is the 2022 theme.