Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, a 12-acre, 5-hectare botanical garden near Downtown Des Moines, is where you have arrived. It first opened here on December 15, 1979 as the Des Moines Botanical Center, the culmination of interest that began in 1929. The city acquired a greenhouse on the west side of the river in 1939 that served as a production and display greenhouse until years of disrepair led to plans for something new. A new botanical center was announced in 1973; ground was broken in 1978, construction followed, and the center officially opened in 1979.
From 1979 to 2004 the city operated the center; from 2004 to 2012 Des Moines Water Works took over. Control later passed to a not-for-profit called the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, which would oversee funding and expansion, and in 2013 the garden changed its name to reflect that change. The site underwent major renovations and expansions in 2013 and again in 2021. From this east bank of the Des Moines River, north of I-235, the river and the highway give you your bearings, while the 2013 and 2021 expansions show the layers of civic care and renewal.