CONSTRUCTION TRAFFIC NOTICE: Warm Springs will be closed Aug 26th - Sep 20th, we kindly ask that event traffic reroute the back way through Parkcenter.
This garden, which opened in 1998, was designed by world-renowned English landscape architect John Brookes and was made possible by Muriel and Diana Kirk.
The wall of the Old Idaho State Penitentiary serves as this garden’s distant backdrop and helps define the style of an English Garden, where large groupings of perennials provide seasonal interest year round. More than 1,300 perennials have been planted in this garden.
A key focal point of the Muriel and Diana Kirk English Garden is the charming Summer House, constructed of Tablerock sandstone. The black slate roof originally graced the Veterans Home, and the ceiling is wood from the floor of Boise’s former J.C. Penneys store. The crowning achievement is the wrought iron and copper weathervane, crafted by Boise’s own master blacksmith Nahum Hersom. Another focal point is the Princess Diana Fountain, dedicated in 1998 in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales.
The Rose Garden offers a delightful collection of antique and newer roses within an old-fashioned garden setting.
Planted among the roses and along this garden’s borders are a host of popular perennials used to extend the seasonal interest of the garden.
Jane Falk Oppenheimer, who, along with her husband Arthur, donated the funding to initiate this garden.
Antique or heirloom roses are “all roses that were in existence before the introduction in 1867 of La France”, the very first hybrid tea rose. In the Rose Garden, we feature roses bred and introduced before 1920, along with more modern ones.
The Rose Garden is designed to harmonize with its picturesque surroundings. Sandstone terraces reflect the contours of the Boise foothills and the rustic stone walls of the Old Penitentiary. It is one of IBG’s older gardens, opening in 1989.
Flavorful and fragrant, the Herb Garden contains plants rich in legend and lore as well as aroma. These plants have been used for centuries in medicines, cosmetics, decoration, and cooking. This garden is one of the older gardens at IBG, established in the early 1990s. The stonework came from Boise’s Eastman Building which burned down in the 1986 downtown fire.
On display are various species and varieties of thyme, oregano, comfrey, marjoram, rosemary, chives, as well as some less common herbs such as costmary, bugloss, sorrel, rue, and celandine. The herb garden is located on the east side of the Garden Cottage. A brick pathway circles the garden, and a stone pathway allows visitors to walk through the center of the bed for a closer look. The garden shows best from May through the first frost.
Enjoy a cool respite from the summer sun with flowing water and a pond in the tranquil Meditation Garden.
This garden’s “forest” includes broadleaf evergreens, conifers, and deciduous plants that require and prosper from the shade, the cool and moist air, and a break from the intense heat and sun of the Boise summer afternoons. Temperatures in the Meditation Garden can be as much as 20 degrees cooler than open, exposed locations in the afternoon.
The thin, wispy arborvitae in this garden was planted and left by minimum security inmates operating a tree nursery for the Old State Penitentiary in the 1960s. The rock wall along the back border of this garden contains sandstone quarried from Table Rock by the inmates. This area now creates an inviting forest and provides shade to the picnic tables scattered beneath the tree canopy.
Visit the Koi pond to see an array of Koi donated by Richins family. The Richins donated their beautiful collection of Koi fish to the garden along with the funds to build a new state of the art Koi pond.
An adventure awaits! This space is designed for families and children to immerse in nature and play. Young explorers can crawl through hollow logs, ascend into the canopy of our tree house, or find shade under the stone lizard lair. Our “Boy in the Swing” fountain houses tadpoles, native tree frogs and water skippers. Bunnies, birds, and other wildlife can usually be found around every corner!
Three Sensory Beds sit in the center of this Garden, where young children can experience new textures, amazing sights, and fascinating smells. Older children will enjoy the Kitchen Garden—tending to the vegetables, fruits, herbs and edible flowers that grow next to our miniature Kitchen Play-House. Kids can also learn about meat-eating (carnivorous) plants, Idaho geology, or simply enjoy the instruments of our musical trail. There is an adventure to be had for all ages!
Idaho Geology exhibit and Musical Trail made possible thanks to the John William Jackson Fund in the Idaho Community Foundation.
Plant Select® is a nonprofit collaboration of Colorado State University, Denver Botanic Gardens, and professional horticulturists. Its mission is to seek out and distribute the very best plants for landscapes and gardens from the Intermountain region to the High Plains and beyond.
Since 2012, IBG has showcased some of these plants in our Plant Select® Demonstration Garden. We became a licensed propagator in 2018, which allows us to grow these outstanding plants for use in our garden and to offer them for sale to the public.
Plants were chosen for the program to exhibit these eight attributes:
Flourish with less water
Thrive in a broad range of conditions
Habitat-friendly
Tough and resilient in challenging climates
One of a kind/unique
Resist disease & insects
Long-lasting beauty
Non-invasive
Learn more about Plant Select®
Located “up the hill” near the Summer Succulent Garden and Pencil Bench, this seasonal garden is not only a source of summer veggies, but also a multitude of colorful annual flowers, plus the ever-popular pumpkin patch.
The simplest and most direct connection to nature is…our food! A self-guided tour and interpretive signage will lead you through the amazing world of fruit and vegetable growing. From tiny backyard gardens to fundamental Idahoan agriculture, the themes represented in this space are designed to connect our community to growing food! This garden is always changing: every year new themes and new plants are on display. Produce is donated to the City Light Women’s and Children’s Shelter. Visit this garden, and get curious about your food!
In partnership with the Pahove Chapter of the Idaho Native Plant Society, IBG developed the Idaho Native Plant Garden in 1990.
The objective is to demonstrate a selection of Idaho’s diverse flora and to educate visitors about our botanical heritage and the importance of native plants. This garden features an ever-expanding list of native grasses, forbs, trees, and shrubs, with a focus on plants that thrive in our high desert climate.
A small pond and waterfall sit near the center of the garden and showcase a selection of native wetland plants. A petrified log found in the Owyhee Mountain Range, which was donated to the garden in 2015, reveals a layer of our region’s deep biological history. Former First Lady, “Lady Bird” Johnson, taught that native plants “give us a sense of where we are in this great land.” The Idaho Native Plant Garden gives us a taste of the great biological diversity that Idaho offers.
The Lewis and Clark Native Plant Garden opened in May 2006, commemorating the bicentennial of the Lewis & Clark Expedition (1804-1806).
The objective of this garden is to display a selection of plants that were collected during the expedition, with a specific focus on the 145 species collected between Great Falls, Montana and The Dalles, Oregon. A series of interpretive signs inform visitors about the significance of the expedition and how Native Americans contributed to its success. Ethnobotanical uses of the plants are also highlighted.
Designed by Don Brigham Plus Associates, the Lewis and Clark garden is organized into four zones – Canyon, Prairie, Mountain, and Wetland. Each zone presents plants and other features that are characteristic of their respective ecological communities. The Gathering Place, which is located at the entrance of the garden, features a green roof planted with a selection of native forbs and grasses. The design of the Gathering Place was influenced by Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and Native American kivas.
Located within the boundaries of the Lewis and Clark garden, is a demonstration of drought-tolerant plants native to the western states and is meant to inspire visitors to include such plants in their home gardens.
Cultivars of some of the plants collected during the Lewis and Clark Expedition are featured in the Western Waterwise Garden.
It is a demonstration garden of plants that are fire-resistant, showcasing planting designs and techniques that can help protect properties from wildfire damage. Over 300 plant species are on display. The garden is managed and maintained by Idaho Firewise (https://idahofirewise.org/). with help from students in CWI’s horticulture program. While the Firewise Garden is not within the boundaries of IBG and is not managed by IBG staff, access is granted to the Firewise Garden by passing through either the Meditation Garden or the Wetlands of the Lewis and Clark Native Plant Garden.
