03/10/2022
Idaho Botanical Blog
09/12/2022
Entering the World of Flower Farming
By: Hannah Hegdahl, IBG Greenhouse and Nursery Coordinator
Have you ever experienced that romanticized idea of a flower farm? You’re picking flowers at sunset on a warm summer night, and everything is amazing. Behind
READ MORE +
07/25/2022
Wendy Irwin, Youth Education Manager: Enthusiastically sharing her biology expertise with our youth
By: Anni Jack, Adult Education Coordinator
As I sit at my Garden desk each week, the first greetings I usually have are the sound of children and families not too far from my window. The excitement i
READ MORE +
07/11/2022
The Magic of Drip Watering (Or, Delegation Skills for Bad Plant Parents)
By: Wendy Irwin, IBG Youth Education Manager
Being a Plant Parent If plant care falls on a scale between “helicopter” and “free range parent,” my personal style would be in the vicinity of, “Oh
READ MORE +
06/17/2022
The Best Annuals for Beginners
By: Hannah Hegdahl, IBG Greenhouse and Nursery Coordinator
Have you ever heard a plant described as an “annual” and had no idea what that meant? Most people are afraid to ask what they would consider an “obvious
READ MORE +
05/19/2022
Weed It and Reap: Compost, Your Garden Gravy
By: By Anni Jack, IBG Adult Education Director
Midden, rot heap, dressing, leaf mold, wormery, windrow, smells like green spirit, muck, bokashi… all terms for the black gold that we know as compost. Comp
READ MORE +
03/03/2022
HELLO SPRING! – Spring Gardening Tasks
By: Anni Jack, Adult Education Coordinator
'Tis the season to start living out our winter daydreams filled with green things and gardens! Here are a few quick tips for getting your garden spring-ready
READ MORE +
01/03/2022
For the Joy of Birds: Winter Birding in the Treasure Valley
By: Anni Jack, Adult Education Coordinator, Photographs by Cory Berish
Though I do not spend time photographing birds as many of my friends do, I know I would miss their color and song as winter wears on. They bring joy as they
READ MORE +
11/24/2021
Winter Plant Cuttings
By: Anni Jack, Adult Education Coordinator
As we welcome the beauty of winter to the Treasure Valley, we also come to the season of family, friends, and lots of cozy indoor time. Our gardens and natur
READ MORE +
11/18/2021
IBG Seeds for the Snake River Seed Cooperative
By: Daniel Murphy, IBG Collections Curator
Snake River Seed Cooperative is a collective of family farmers in the Intermountain West who work together to produce a wide diversity of locally-adapted seeds.
READ MORE +
11/05/2021
Garden Tool Care
By: Anni Jack, IBG Adult Education Coordinator
Meet Dave Hibbard, IBG’s Ground & Facilities Coordinator! He is going to walk us through some garden tool care for this coming winter. Dave has som
READ MORE +
10/28/2021
Giving Thanks to Your Soil
By: Anni Jack, Adult Education Coordinator
We step on it, dig in it, drop seeds and plants in its space and they devour its nutrients, then we yank those plants out of their happy place and enjoy their t
READ MORE +
10/22/2021
Save the Seeds
By: Anni Jack, Adult Education Coordinator
If you caught the last blog post, you have read some ideas on saving your garden produce into the winter months and beyond. Saving seeds is another form of ga
READ MORE +
10/14/2021
Preserving the Harvest
By: Anni Jack, Adult Education Coordinator
Dirty nails, sweaty brows, frown lines (how many squash bugs can there be!?)… We made it, people! We have earned this garden harvest! Now the question is, w
READ MORE +
08/20/2021
Growing Culinary Herbs for Pollinators and You
By: Elizabeth Dickey, Education and Visitor Engagement Director
Herbs used in cooking do very well in the climate of southern Idaho and in most of its soils. Many of them, such as rosemary, thyme, oregano, and sage, are nati
READ MORE +
06/29/2021
Weed it and Reap – Container Gardening
By: Idaho Botanical Garden
Container Gardening Want to grow plants in an area with no open soil, such as on a porch, patio, or by a door? Put them in a pot, half barrel, or other conta
READ MORE +
03/04/2021
Welcome Home: The Steppe
By: Sierra Laverty, Adult Education Specialist
Welcome home! You live in a rare, complex ecosystem. The water you drink is the result of a 9-million-year old lake. The air you breathe is the output of hundre
READ MORE +
10/28/2020
Weed it and Reap | Less Lawn, Greater Value
By: Elizabeth Dickey, Education and Visitor Engagement Director
There are 50 million acres of turfgrass in the United States. For perspective—Idaho is 53 million acres. Home lawns provide a place for children to play a
READ MORE +
10/07/2020
Weed it and Reap – Fall Planting
By: Elizabeth Dickey, Education and Visitor Engagement Director
Fall is a wonderful time to add new perennial plants to your landscape. Fall plantings adjust to their new surroundings, getting set to actively grow in the s
READ MORE +
07/09/2019
A Word from the Koi Pond
By: Bob McKay, Pond Specialist and Gardener
Here at the Idaho Botanical Garden (IBG), the koi pond has had thick blooms of suspended, single cell algae and long, stringy blanket weed or "hair" algae. As I
READ MORE +
06/06/2019
Meat Eating Plants of Idaho
By: Daniel Murphy - Collections Curator
Plants have to eat, just like any other living thing. However, unlike other living things, plants make their own food using water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide.
READ MORE +
05/02/2019
The Amazing Adaptability of Native Plants
By: Anna Lindquist, Garden Lead and Native Plant Specialist
Imagine being stuck in one spot, subject to the elements, reliant upon the kindness of strangers to feed you, and unable to defend yourself should something dec
READ MORE +
04/03/2019
PRETTY TOUGH PLANTS: Discover the Plant Select® Program
By: Nell Frazer Lindqust, IBG Greenhouse & Nursery Coordinator
The Plant Select® program identifies, promotes, and distributes plants that are well suited for gardens in the Intermountain West. Created in 1997, the program
READ MORE +
03/21/2019
Idaho celebrates Week of the Young Child
By: Brandi Nyhof, Idaho AEYC outreach coordinator
The Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children (Idaho AEYC) is partnering with the Idaho Botanical Garden to host a family-friendly outdoor celebrati
READ MORE +
03/04/2019
Waking Up Your Garden
By: Elizabeth Dickey, Education and Visitor Engagement Director
Early spring is a great time to shake off the winter blues and get your garden ready before the busy warm season is upon us. Local gardeners have a few sayin
READ MORE +
02/12/2019
DIY: How to build a backyard greenhouse
By: Sierra Laverty, Adult Education Specialist
Building a small, backyard greenhouse can be a rewarding, easy, and even less expensive solution to indoor grow lights. A greenhouse can allow a home gardener t
READ MORE +
02/11/2019
Growing Your Own: As Easy as A-B-Seed?
By: Sierra Laverty, Assistant Horticulture Director
It’s hard to ignore seeds this time of year. Many gardeners’ mailboxes are stuffed with seed catalogs, heightening our anticipation of winter’s end. Dried
READ MORE +
01/14/2019
Gardening in a Changing Climate, Part III: A World Without Water
By: Sierra Laverty, Assistant Horticulture Director
Boise, Idaho—home to Idaho Botanical Garden—is known as the City of Trees. There is an elusive fact that our city's shade trees and lush lawns conspire to h
READ MORE +
12/04/2018
Gardening in a Changing Climate, Part II: A Horde of Locusts
By: Sierra Laverty, Assistant Horticulture Director
In the final days of October, we transplanted more than 100 vegetable seedlings into our raised beds and cold frame. Tucked under row-cover and a little plastic
READ MORE +
10/08/2018
Preparing Your Pond for Winter
By: Robert McKay, Gardener, Pond Specialist Certified Koi Keeper
Getting Your Pond Ready for Winter As we approach late October, the nighttime temperatures dance around freezing and the daytime temperatures struggle to get o
READ MORE +
10/01/2018
Literally – Check it Out!
By:
Did you know that our administration building houses a huge library of horticulture books? These books are free for members to check out. Here is a list of
READ MORE +
09/11/2018
Discover the Magic of Nature Camps
By: Wendy Irwin, Youth Education Coordinator
Summer at Idaho Botanical Garden means many things, from concerts, to weddings, to quiet moments spent at shaded picnic tables. For the Youth Education Staff a
READ MORE +
06/18/2018
It’s National Pollinator Week
By: Daniel Murphy
Thanks to Pollinator Partnership for providing these Pollination Fast Facts! What is pollination? Pollination is a vital stage in the life cycle of all flow
READ MORE +
06/15/2018
Interested in Saving Seeds?
By: Idaho Botanical Garden
Here are some very basic seed saving tips! Some of the easiest flowers to collect seeds from include: Chocolate flower (Berlandieria lyrata) Winecups (
READ MORE +
05/29/2018
Meet Mark Nagel Volunteer Beekeeper
By:
Hi Everyone! Let me introduce myself. My name is Mark Nagel and I am the new volunteer beekeeper at the Garden. I have been keeping bees for 6 years and am
READ MORE +
05/17/2018
30,000 Honey Bees!
By:
30,000 Honey Bees! Please welcome our newest IBG staff members…30,000 honey bees! Please welcome our newest IBG staff members…30,000 honey b
READ MORE +
02/14/2018
Plantoids at the Garden
By: Idaho Botanical Garden
Idaho Botanical Garden hosted the Plantoids Robotics Workshop In an unusual pairing of robotics and horticulture, the Idaho Botanical Garden hosted the Pl
READ MORE +
02/12/2018
Focus on Early Childhood
By: Idaho Botanical Garden
Project Learning Tree - Professional Development Workshop Focus on Early Childhood - March 16-17, 2018 Friday, 4:30-8:30 pm. Saturday, 8:30 am–3:30 pm with
READ MORE +
10/22/2015
“Birds & Blooms” Magazine
By:
Author Melinda Meyers with "Birds and Blooms" magazine names the Idaho Botanical Garden as her #2 favorite public garden in the nation!
READ MORE +
01/31/2014
Rethinking Idaho Landscapes
By:
The Idaho Botanical Garden and the University of Idaho continue popular and important community forum, Rethinking Idaho Landscapes on February 22, 2014. Keynote
READ MORE +
01/31/2014
Winter Interest
By:
We are well into winter in the northern hemisphere, and the plants in our landscapes have been dormant for weeks now. (more…)
READ MORE +