This summer we joined our friends from NGB and AAS in America’s breadbasket—Des Moines, Iowa. We were greeted with surprisingly mild weather and stayed downtown along the scenic Des Moines River. We packed it in for two days, visiting diverse gardens, community spaces and places of agricultural significance. The meeting kicked off with a dynamic roundtable conversation about what’s happening in our industry, how Covid-19 continues to influence supply and demand and where we’re headed.

Setting out on a walking tour, we visited the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, a maturing public garden, beautifully redesigned in 2013. A highlight for many, we learned about the work of Dr. Borlaug at the World Food Prize Foundation Hall of Laureates. Restored from the century-old Des Moines Public Library Building, every detail was considered in this reimagined space that pays homage to those dedicated to alleviating world hunger through agricultural innovation.

Other highlights were the Better Homes and Gardens Test Garden, the outdoor studio where photographs are taken for BH&G publications, the downtown Des Moines Sculpture Park, and the Iowa State Fairgrounds where vendors were busy setting up for the upcoming fair. Our visit wouldn’t have been complete without a stop at the Polk County Master Gardeners’ Discovery Garden where we were able to pay homage to the State Fair’s famous butter cow!  

Day 2 took us to the University of Iowa in Ames where we toured the extensive Iowa State Seed Testing Lab, the Jack Trice Stadium, and the private home garden of the Director of Horticulture at Reiman Gardens, a true botanical oasis! Root to Rise Farm hosted the HGSA Trials at their organic CSA site. We saw a great mix of vegetables and flowers from HGSA members and enjoyed lunch and a tour of Alluvial Brewery. This year’s AAS Trials were at Reiman Gardens, another spectacular botanical garden, also home to the world’s largest gnome!

Our gathering concluded with a banquet sponsored by [insert sponsor] at Reiman Gardens. Patty Buskirk was awarded the AAS Breeder’s Cup for her many contributions to the horticulture industry and we took a moment to honor the late plantsman, David Salman, of High Country Gardens.

After several years of remote interactions, the gathering provided many opportunities for catching up with our peers and meeting new members in the industry as well. Everyone agreed it was great to have the in-person time together.

The Des Moines horticulture community treated us well, and we are looking forward to being welcomed by West Coast Seeds in Vancouver for the 2024 Summer Summit!