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• Demonstration Garden Spring Clean Up

  • When
    26 Apr 2025
  •  
    9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Demonstration Garden, 3305 92nd St, Urbandale

  Join us Saturday, April 26 for the Demonstration Garden's annual spring cleanup.  Start time is 9 AM.  Arrive when you can, leave when you must.  Generally we go until noon.  Mist, not a problem. Sprinkles, not a problem.  Heavy rain and we will reschedule.  New volunteers welcome!

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• Discovery Garden Pond Clean Up

  • When
    26 Apr 2025
  •  
    9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Discovery Garden

  Register

  

  Discovery Garden pond cleaning and set up for the summer season is scheduled for Saturday, April 26th. It starts about 9:00 (arrive at 8:45) at the Discovery Garden. Learn about cleaning a pond up after winter and see more of how this one is actually "put together". Bring boots or extra shoes that you can get wet in; even though the pond gets pumped out there is still a little water in it!  We will have a lot of wet "stuff" from the winter to get scooped up and hauled away.

  This event counts for volunteer hours. 

  
  

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• Plant Sale at the Demonstration Garden

  • When
    3 May 2025
  •  
    8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Demonstration Garden, 92nd and Dewey Gibbs, Urbandale

  2025 Polk County Master Gardeners' Plant Sale

  Saturday, May 3, 2025

  8:00 AM - 12:00 PM 

  at the PCMG Demonstration Garden

  92nd  & Dewey Gibbs St,  Urbandale (next to Valerius Elementary School)

  All proceeds benefit the work at the Demo Garden and Polk County Master Gardeners

  
  

  Perennials: grasses, hostas, daylilies, groundcovers and more! Limited quantities of houseplants, peppers, tomatoes and vegetables

  
  

   

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• First Work Night, Demonstration Garden

  • When
    5 May 2025
  •  
    5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    Demonstration Garden, 3305 92nd St, Urbandale

  All are welcome to come to our first work night at the Demo Garden!

  This is a great opportunity for new volunteers to meet the garden leaders, learn about the different areas of the garden and become involved!

  Work nights continue weekly throughout the summer, and there are many tasks to be done each week.

  5:00 PM -8:00 PM.  Come when you can, leave when you must!

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• Urban Ag Field Day Sweet Tooth Farm

  • When
    9 May 2025
  •  
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    1604 Arlington Ave Des Moines, IA 50314

  

  Join the Master Gardeners and ISU Extension and Outreach in Polk County at Sweet Tooth Farms! 

  Meet the owner, Monika Owczarski and learn about the farm’s mission to ditch plastic mulch for organic, zero-waste alternatives. ISU Extension and Outreach and Polk County Master Gardeners will provide resources and answer questions about urban farming.

  
  

  Register Now!
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• Bringing Gardening Home: Urban Conservation & Gardening

  • When
    19 Jun 2025
  •  
    7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    Demonstration Garden, 92 St. & Dewey Gibbs, Urbandale
  • Registered
    Be the first

  Register

  Our urban areas are growing at a record pace!  Master Conservationist Andy James of Prairie Fire Restoration will speak about gardening that protects and preserves our urban green spaces.

    

   

  The public is invited to our summer lectures.

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• Organic & Low Impact Gardening for Pollinators

  • When
    26 Jun 2025
  •  
    7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    Demonstration Garden, 92nd St. & Dewey Gibbs, Urbandale
  • Registered
    2 registrants

  Register

  Presented by Kelly Jensen from Ted Lare Garden Center:  

  Kelly will be talking about his personal methods for weeds and pest control, as well as tolerance for having those things around. "Organic gardening is a lot about give and take with nature -- not to control it and bend it to your will."

  
  

  
  

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• Polk County Master Gardener Bus Trip

  • When
    28 Jun 2025
  • Location
    Start and End at: 1625 Adventureland Dr. Suite A. Altoona, IA

  

  Join the Polk County Master Gardeners for a day full of beautiful private gardens, a flower farm, a farm-to-table lunch, a prairie restoration and plant nursery shopping in Story and Boone County.

  Register Now!
  

  Registration fee: $85– includes bus travel, lunch, snacks and garden admissions. Physical activity: moderate walking stairs, occasional uneven terrain, will require walking on a gravel road for a short distance, and stairs on/off bus.

  Itinerary:

  • We are very excited to have the privilege of touring 4 very special private gardens. Highlights include:
  • A large urban garden that has numerous conifers, Japanese maples, sun and shade plants of various sizes and shapes.  While wandering through the garden you’ll find 6 water features and fish too! 
  • A five-acre perennial garden that is situated on three levels.  Each level contains distinct microclimates and plant ecosystems.  You will see over 1500 Hosta’s and hundreds of companion shade perennials displayed in various designs.  You will observe several pollinator gardens, a rose garden, a daylily collection, water features and several original art pieces.
  • A 10-acre home site of a local Story County Master Gardener that includes a reconstructed prairie, a large daylily collection Hosta, iris and a diverse collection of perennials, shrubs and trees.
  • A 3200 square foot garden that features 57 different plant species! This entire landscape was designed and planted by Kelly Norris.  Kelly is an award-winning author and plantsman, and the former director of horticulture and education at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Gardens.
  •  Friend’s Flowers is a family run flower farm with over 70 varieties of flowers through the season.  There will be an opportunity to build a bouquet at their flower bar for $15 per person.  Please note your interest in participating on the registration and bring cash the day of the trip.
  • Nursery Red Granite Farm is a diverse, family-owned retail garden center operation.  Its garden center is full of unique perennials, succulents, shrubs and hardy vines.

  Learn More

  
  

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• Open House at the Demonstration Garden

  • When
    10 Jul 2025
  •  
    6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    Demonstration Garden 3305 92nd St, Urbandale

  Come enjoy this gem in the heart of the metro area! Spend some time exploring the different areas of the garden, enjoying some unique activities and refreshments, and connecting with neighborhood residents as well as other master gardeners.  Everyone welcome!

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• Circle of Life: From Beginning to End of Life for a Tree

  • When
    17 Jul 2025
  •  
    7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    Demonstration Garden, 92nd St. & Dewey Gibbs, Urbandale
  • Registered
    Be the first

  Register

  
  

  Eric Foley, an ISA Board-Certified Master Arborist, will be talking about the different life stages that trees experience, and how their habits and needs change over time. 

  
  
  

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• The Making of a Garden: Past, Present, and Future

  • When
    24 Jul 2025
  •  
    7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    Demonstration Garden, 92nd St & Dewey Gibbs, Urbandale
  • Registered
    1 registrant

  Register

  Marcia Leeper, garden enthusiast, will share her garden story of 38 years, providing tips and techniques that led to the evolving garden she has today.

  
  
  

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• Shade Gardening

  • When
    31 Jul 2025
  •  
    7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    Demonstration Garden, 92nd & Dewey Gibbs, Urbandale

  
  

  "Tired of only using hostas in your shade garden? Looking for something a little more special? Dustin, from Ted Lare Garden Center will be presenting some great options for your shade garden that will broaden your plant pallet and help you think about your shade beds, differently!"
  

  
  
  

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• The Care and Feeding of Roses

  • When
    7 Aug 2025
  •  
    7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    Demonstration Garden, 92nd & Dewey Gibbs, Urbandale
  • Registered
    1 registrant

  Register

  What do roses need to thrive?  Karri Rose, Chief Inspiration Officer from Rose Farmstead, will share some tips on how to care for roses and keep them healthy.

  
  
  

  
  

  The public is invited to our summer lectures.

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