American Horticultural Society

Winter Floral Design

Join us for a night of floral design fun guided by Aubrey Roth, a florist with more than 15 years of experience. Learn how to get the most out of each stem and embrace your own style. We will take inspiration from the season, creating arrangements to take home with a base of gray-green foliage paired with hues of blue, crisp winter white and bright jewel tones.
Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden,
909 Robert D. Ray Drive,
Des Moines, IA 50309,
(515) 323-6290.

Essential Oil Jewelry

Explore the benefits of essential oils and the plants from which these aromatic compounds come. Then create a simple DIY diffuser bracelet or necklace to wear to promote wellness in your daily life.
Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden,
909 Robert D. Ray Drive,
Des Moines, IA 50309,
(515) 323-6290.

Winter Bulb Basics

The coldest time of the year is a great time to learn all about bulbs and how to force them out of dormancy. Discover how bulbs grow, how to plant them and about the beautiful blooms they produce. Then choose from an assortment of bulbs to plant and take home in your own dish garden.
Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden,
909 Robert D. Ray Drive,
Des Moines, IA 50309,
(515) 323-6290.

Art Installation: Meadow

Amsterdam-based art and design collective Studio Drift is known for its large-scale installations that emphasize the connection between humans and earth. Studio Drift: Meadow is the American debut of their self-dubbed, “upside-down landscape,” a masterwork of kinetic lighting comprising eighteen mechanical blossoms that open and close in response to visitors passing below them. Inspired by the biological behavior of nyctinasty—the ability of certain plants to bloom in the daytime and close their petals at night—visitors operate as sunlight proxies, activating motion sensors that cause the petals to react and change color in their presence. The fabric flowers are printed in gradient shades that harmonize with colored LED lights to evoke the changing tones of a skyscape as dawn transitions to dusk.

Newfields Horticultural Society,
4000 N Michigan Rd,
Indianapolis, IN 46208.
(317) 923-1331.

Orchid Fest

Join Reiman Gardens for the annual Orchid Fest. Exotic orchids in a variety of species and colors will be on display and available for purchase both days. The Central Iowa Orchid Society will also staff a question and answer booth, providing both novices and experienced growers valuable insight on care and keeping of orchids. While at Orchid Fest, visitors can also discover live butterflies from around the globe in the Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing, explore the tropical Hughes Conservatory, and browse the Gift Shop bursting with unique and sustainable items.

Reiman Gardens – Iowa State University,
1407 S University Blvd,
Ames, IA 50011.
(515) 294-2710.