Kids Get Growing in Des Moines! Gardening Classes 4 Kids in Des Moines

What better place to ‘grow’ special family memories than in the garden? Besides deepening the natural connection children have with the Earth, gardening teaches many great lessons. As we move into spring, it’s time to plant some inspiration! We sprouted a list of local gardens and classes where you and your little gardener can put your green thumbs to good use.

Des Moines Parks and Recreation – Community Gardens

Community Gardens are Located in Various Locations in Des Moines • (515) 237-1386

Feeling ready to garden as a family but don’t have the space to do it? Des Moines Parks and Rec has community gardens where families can tend their own crop. If nurturing your own garden seems a little overwhelming, families can also volunteer to help out already established gardens.

Community gardens provide access to fresh produce, engage families in physical activity and serve as an educational ground for home gardening and nutrition education. Families can eat the produce harvested from the garden or it can be given to local food pantries or organizations to provide other Des Moines families with fresh wholesome food.

Enabling Garden

1050 1st Avenue S • Altoona, IA 50009

This whimsical accessible garden in Altoona now has a Children’s Garden. The Garden is designed to engage the five senses with natural playscapes. The garden and playscape are both FREE and open to the public. The Children’s Garden is located between the praying mantis sculpture and the orchard on the south side of the garden. Use the blue arbor entrance into the Enabling Garden and look for the totem entrance into the Children’s Garden on your right.

In addition to the Children’s Garden, programs are hosted by Polk County Master Gardeners in the Children’s Garden. Upcoming events include Children’s Nature Art on Tuesday June 28th, 2016 at 6:00 to 8:00 pm and Children’s Art in the Garden on Tuesday, July 19th, 2016 at 6:00 to 8:00 pm.

Forest Avenue Outreach

1511 12th Street • Des Moines, IA 50314 • (515) 991-2665

Forest Avenue Outreach is “Growing Community One Seed at a Time”. The nonprofit oversees several community green spaces across Des Moines, each of them bustling with families, as well as, a number of youth programs and community events.

The organization’s youth programming aims to connect kids with nature. Their Garden Club provides kids with their own garden plots for a start-to-finish food production experience. FAO partners with Des Moines Parks and Recreation to provide structured, hands-on, interactive gardening lessons to the youth who attend the summer program at Evelyn Davis Park.

Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden

909 East River Drive • Des Moines, IA 50316 • (515) 242-2934

Tropical plantings and a water garden put even super-hyper small fries in a Zen state of mind at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden. The Botanical Garden is a great place to bring your mini master gardeners to experience the wonderful world of plants. During cooler months families can explore under the dome and in warmer months they can walk around the outdoor gardens.

In addition, the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden hosts a variety of kid-friendly classes. Current class offerings include Story Sprouts, Garden Growers Workshops, Art in the Garden and Potting Bench Workshops. Visit the Botanical Garden’s website for specific class details, dates and times.

Living History Farms

11121 Hickman Roard • Urbandale, IA 50322 • (515) 278-5286

Kids can learn about farming and agriculture at Living History Farms an interactive, 500-acre outdoor museum that tells the amazing story of how Iowans transformed the fertile prairies of the Midwest over 300 years into the most productive farmland in the world. Kids can learn at the site and through the Farms’ camps and educational programs.

Living History Farms introduced the Family Garden Club this year. If you would like to know more about how food gets on your plate; want to explore Living History Farms in a new way; or are looking for a place where your family can get their hands dirty and learn about growing vegetables and flowers; then the new Family Garden Club may be for you. The Family Garden Club will meet in the mornings on the 2nd Saturday of every month from May through October. Unfortunately, the class is currently sold out. Please call (515) 278-5286 x157 to be put on a waiting list.

Reiman Gardens

1407 University Boulevard • Ames, IA 50011 • (515) 294-2710

Experience 14 acres of living splendor at Reiman Gardens in Ames. Be enchanted by hundreds of exotic butterflies, learn about plants, insects and environmental stewardship, and reconnect with nature and your family.

Reiman Gardens’ mission is to “educate, enchant and inspire environmental stewardship through displays of living beauty.” One of the many ways they do that is through a full lineup of events and activities for garden enthusiasts of all ages. Upcoming events for kids include: Insect Day; Movement Milestones: Expression for Ages 6-10; Youth Watercolor; Gardening Basics and more.

Sprout – Des Moines Urban Youth Learning Garden

Corner of 25th and Forest Avenue • Des Moines, IA • 1-800-44-DRAKE (37253)

Little sprouts will learn the value of an honest, healthy meal when they grow their own veggies. Sprout: The Des Moines Urban Youth Learning Garden at Drake University is located on the corner of Drake’s campus. Sprout serves as an environmental educational tool, urban gardening resource, and healthy food access point for students, kindergarten through higher education. It features an outdoor classroom for 30 adults or 50 children, theme-based raised beds, fruit trees, native Iowa plants, and multilingual signage.

The major strategic partner in the project is the Boys and Girls Club of Central Iowa. Two times a week students from various clubs plant, grow, and learn in the garden. There are open student and community hours from 1:00 to 4:00 pm on Saturdays. To reserve space in the garden please contact servicelearning@drake.edu.

Ted Lare Garden Center

2701 Cumming Avenue • Cumming, IA 50061 • (515) 981-1073

Ted Lare is a locally owned garden center located in the countryside just outside of Cumming. This gardener’s paradise features flowers and plants, pottery, fairy garden accessories, container garden recipes, fountains, bird baths and design services. The Center welcomes gardeners, young and old to touch, see and explore.

For a more hands-on lesson in growing things, kids 12 and over can check out Ted Lare Garden Center’s gardening classes. It’s an educational way for kids to get their hands dirty. Growers can learn more about veggie gardening, new plant introductions, orchids, kitchen gardens, container gardening, tomatoes and more.

Wright Outdoor Solutions

8000 Raccoon River Drive • West Des Moines, IA 50266 • (515) 987-0800

If your little budding botanist wants to explore flowers and plants in the middle of suburbia then this is the place for you. Wright Outdoor Solutions has been caring for outdoor spaces since 1928. Their service offerings include lawn care, residential and commercial maintenance, a garden center, holiday lights, land clearing, and mulch production.

Kids will love walking around their grounds and checking out their garden center. Wright Outdoor Solutions also hosts a number of special events and classes throughout the year. Be sure to watch their website and Facebook page for future events, especially their Month of May Celebration.