I've lived in Iowa virtually my entire life and have been involved in Iowa's tourism industry for almost 15 years (gasp!), but I am still amazed by what the state offers. Every year I add to my wish list of places to visit.For instance, did you know there was a place where someone plants and tends to flowers, but you can come pick them? How incredible is that? At Miss Effie's Country Garden and Garden Stuff in Donahue, you can take your pick of more than 8,000 annuals.The flowers change with the seasons, of course, so you'll want to go more than once. Love it! Also on my list is the Loess Hills Lavender Farm near Missouri Valley. Yes, a lavender farm in Iowa. I'm enamored by the idea of smelling two acres of lavender fields.For centuries lavender has been used to dress wounds, as perfume, and used for a sense of calm and balance. A gift shop on site offers many lavender products made right there on the farm. I sense a girls outing in store this summer.While I have been to Reiman Gardens in Ames before, it's on my list to visit this year because of its special LEGO exhibit. I have not one, but two, LEGOmaniacs in my house so this will be perfect. The 14-acre garden includes 27 sculptures made out of more than 500,000 LEGO bricks in 14 displays inspired by gardens and nature. They range in size from six inches to nearly eight feet. The largest sculpture, a mother bison, took 45,143 bricks to construct. Reiman Gardens is the first public garden in the country to display sculptures from LEGO bricks.The exhibit is titled "Nature Connects" and is designed to show how nature in interconnected, just like the LEGO bricks used to build it. The exhibit runs through October 28.Taken great shots of Iowa's flower power? We'd love to see them. Tag and share your #IowaSnapshots on our Facebook and Twitter pages! Want more suggestions on gardens to visit? Check out our Flower Power Pinterest board. Jessica O'Riley, Iowa Tourism Office
Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area (SSNHA) is proud to welcome four new Partner Sites. There are now 110 Partner Sites designated to interpret and preserve its own unique part of America’s agricultural story. New Partner Sites:
Miss Effie’s Country Flowers & Garden Stuff, Donahue. This U-Pick flower farm encourages guests to relax and enjoy the beautiful Grant Wood Landscapes in the shade of an 1892 Classic L Victorian Farmhouse. Chickens and ducks follow you as you select and create a beautiful bouquet from a variety of 90 different flowers.
Tyden Farm No.6, Dougherty. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this farmstead was originally owned by Emil Tyden, a Swedish immigrant and mechanical genius (he held 200 patents in his lifetime). The sixth of eight farms, Tyden No.6 was developed from 1915 to 1939 and is still in use today by the Pitzenberger family. No.6 features a massive 40’x140’ barn and a 26,000-bu concrete-block corncrib, both an unheard of size at that time. Dysart Historical Center, Dysart. The center features a historical building, a one-room rural school and a new agricultural museum and interpretive center. Through Dysart’s inspiring stories, experience Iowa’s rich agricultural heritage and culture.
Johnson County Historical Society Museum, Coralville. The exhibits and interactive displays show how the land, people, transportation and business including agriculture evolved to create today's Johnson County community. The museum's newest permanent exhibit "A Home on the Farm" explores the changes in the lives of Johnson County farm families from 1930-1990.Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area is one of 49 federally designated heritage areas in the nation and is an Affiliated Area of the National Park Service. The Heritage Area covers 37 counties in the northeast quadrant of Iowa. I-80 borders it on the south and I-35 borders it on the west. Through a network of sites, programs and events, SSNHA interprets past and present farm life, agribusiness, and rural communities.
Aaron Steinmann, Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area
