We believe in the power of gardens to bridge the gap between people and nature.
The ISU Horticulture Center’s gardens are established for educational, inspirational, and demonstrational purposes. The broad diversity of the field of horticulture is reflected throughout the gardens with the aim of connecting visitors with nature and the variety of plants that impact our lives.
BETTY NORRIS FAIRCHILD
CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY GARDEN
One of the first gardens to be established at the Center, the Children’s Garden does not attempt to replace those wild places children need to “get lost in” (woods, cornfields, prairie, streams, etc.). Rather it offers a location for one-on-one time with nature in a colorful, fun, and engaging outdoor space.
This garden is comprised of various sub-gardens, each with unique learning opportunities.
It is a magical place where children can touch and smell many different types of plants, watch butterflies and hummingbirds, or maybe just get lost in a grassy hideout. Come and explore in our Rock and Roll Garden, read a book in the Reading Nook, and find peculiar plants in the Curiosity Corner!
The Betty Norris Fairchild Children’s Discovery Garden is the first space within the Horticulture Center to receive support through an endowment. The endowment preserves Betty Norris Fairchild’s memory while supporting the garden into perpetuity.
HERB GARDEN
The Herb Garden is at the heart of the Center. A collaboration with the University of Illinois Master Gardeners, it is divided into 4 quadrants: culinary, fragrance, themed, and medicinal/historical.
LITERARY GARDEN
This garden is based on the verity that nature and literature are wonderful companions and was inspired by a conversation with Toni Tucker in 2006 who suggested we have a “literary garden”.
PINETUM
Permanence, artistic form, and color come together in a myriad of rare and unusual cone-bearing plants known collectively as conifers. The Pinetum was installed in the spring of 2009. Researched and designed as an independent study project by then undergraduate student, Nick Pershey ’09, this garden reflected Pershey’s passion for conifers and promoted them as sustainable, sensible, and compelling landscape plant choices. Designed to be installed in stages, the Pinetum will showcase over 100 conifers once completed. The Pinetum is currently in stage 3 with the remaining 2 stages to be completed in the near future.
BETTY NORRIS FAIRCHILD
CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY GARDEN
One of the first gardens to be established at the Center, the Children’s Garden does not attempt to replace those wild places children need to “get lost in” (woods, cornfields, prairie, streams, etc.). Rather it offers a location for one-on-one time with nature in a colorful, fun, and engaging outdoor space.
This garden is comprised of various sub-gardens, each with unique learning opportunities.
It is a magical place where children can touch and smell many different types of plants, watch butterflies and hummingbirds, or maybe just get lost in a grassy hideout. Come and explore in our Rock and Roll Garden, read a book in the Reading Nook, and find peculiar plants in the Curiosity Corner!
The Betty Norris Fairchild Children’s Discovery Garden is the first space within the Horticulture Center to receive support through an endowment. The endowment preserves Betty Norris Fairchild’s memory while supporting the garden into perpetuity.
HERB GARDEN
The Herb Garden is at the heart of the Center. A collaboration with the University of Illinois Master Gardeners, it is divided into 4 quadrants: culinary, fragrance, themed, and medicinal/historical.
LITERARY GARDEN
This garden is based on the verity that nature and literature are wonderful companions and was inspired by a conversation with Toni Tucker in 2006 who suggested we have a “literary garden”.
PINETUM
Permanence, artistic form, and color come together in a myriad of rare and unusual cone-bearing plants known collectively as conifers. The Pinetum was installed in the spring of 2009. Researched and designed as an independent study project by then undergraduate student, Nick Pershey ’09, this garden reflected Pershey’s passion for conifers and promoted them as sustainable, sensible, and compelling landscape plant choices. Designed to be installed in stages, the Pinetum will showcase over 100 conifers once completed. The Pinetum is currently in stage 3 with the remaining 2 stages to be completed in the near future.
Shade Garden
The Shade Garden was established in 2014 by horticulture student, Jaci Dixon ‘14. The garden was an important addition to the Center, adding a new collection of shade-loving plants. Over the years this space has expanded and now includes a small collection of ferns donated by Don and Sharon Naylor.
Volunteer Garden
The Volunteer Garden was established and dedicated to the Center’s volunteers in 2007. Bringing their work ethic, humor, ideas, energy, and commitment, our volunteers are the “soul” of the Center, inspiring students and staff alike. This garden showcases diverse and choice annuals and contains a collection of perennials and shrubs that sit on top of the knoll, keeping watch over the entire Center.
Moon Garden
Established in 2016 as part of the Center’s Nocturnal Garden theme, the Moon Garden celebrates pale-colored plants that reflect our moon’s light and the pollinators that are attracted by their evening blooms and fragrances.
Fruit Garden
There is no gardening element more beautiful and plainly functional than a fruit garden. Blossoms and fragrances in spring and fruit in summer and fall clothe these gardens from the tree-tops to the ground in an array of colors and forms while educating visitors on the bounty of nutritional value that can be cultivated in their own backyards.
Outdoor Classroom
The south side of the Outdoor Classroom houses a mix of plants from bulbs and annuals to shrubs and trees. It is the site of the Grant Walsh sculpture which honors a former student who shared his love of art and nature.
Prairie
As one of several “gardens” at the Horticulture Center and the first to be established there, the prairie offers horticulture students the ability to study native plants and habitat and satisfies a strong public interest in native species and energy-conserving landscapes. Colorful combinations of native forbs and grasses start blooming early in the spring and continue throughout fall.
Grain Garden
This garden connects visitors to the plants they are likely to see in their cereal bowl every morning. Grasses like wheat, corn, oats, and other plants like buckwheat and flax are all found in this granola mix of a garden!
Welcome Bed
This colorful artsy bed greets visitors with 3 things: a colorful mix of annuals grown by our students, a welcome sign with information about the Center, and the Prairie Panels. The panels, entitled Ode to the Illinois Prairie, are made of steel and showcase six native plants commonly found in Illinois prairies.
Alumni Beds
Also known as the Catalpa Beds for the two catalpa trees situated in each bed, the Alumni beds were created to celebrate the 40-year anniversary of the horticulture discipline at ISU in 2018. The garden beds were designed by horticulture students (Alex Russell ’18 and Sydney Koonce ‘18) and then fundraised, supported, and installed by horticulture alums. The beds consist of diverse perennials including of a mix of natives and reliable cultivars.
Balbach Garden
This garden was designed by horticulture student, Megan Cope (Wolff), as a tribute to Dr. Margaret Balbach who established the horticulture discipline at ISU in 1978. The garden highlights the prairie with a dazzling display of plants.
Urban Farming and Permaculture
More information coming soon.
Rose Garden
The Rose Garden was established in 2018 as a 3-year trial joint venture between the Stephen Decatur Rose Society and the Illinois State University Horticulture Center. The goal was to identify the most reliable, low-maintenance, hardy landscape roses for the Midwest.
Textile Garden
The Textile Garden hosts a variety of fiber plants that visitors might not recognize but that most likely comprise a significant portion of their wardrobes. The Textile Garden encourages us to become familiar with these plants and consider the sources of the products we buy.
Prairie Grove
In partnership with the Children and Elder's Forest, Prairie Grove was established in the fall of 2008. Prairie Grove is a collection of native trees, each planted by a child and an elder or other family or friend. The goals of this partnership are to deepen the bonds between the generations and increase the indigenous local tree population, thereby increasing the quality of life in Bloomington-Normal. The majority of the grove is north of the Center’s prairie and features over 40 trees representing 15 different species.
Veggie Garden
The Vegetable Garden showcases diverse methods of growing food. It is an easy garden to identify at the Center as it is the only garden fenced to keep critters out! This space showcases container, square foot, and vertical gardening as well as companion planting and rotation techniques. Plants in the vegetable garden are chosen with the Center’s theme in mind each year.