Idaho Botanical Garden

Idaho Native Plant Garden (completed 1994)

Representative plants from Idaho's desert and woodland environments, including sagebrush, syringa, native dogwood, and Idaho fescue.

Plant Select Demonstration Garden

Since 2012, IBG has showcased some of these plants in the Plant Select® Demonstration Garden. They became a licensed propagator in 2018, which allows them to grow plants for use in the garden and to offer them for sale to the public. Plants were chosen for the program to exhibit these eight attributes: Flourishes with less water, thrives in a broad range of conditions, is habitat-friendly, demonstrates resilience in challenging climates, is considered one of a kind/unique, resists disease & insects, has long-lasting beauty, and is non-invasive. The partnership with Plant Select also allows the Idaho Botanical Garden to propagate and include these plants in their annual plant sale, further promoting the use of regionally suitable plants. This garden is no longer accessible to the public.

Idaho Native Plant Garden

In partnership with the Pahove Chapter of the Idaho Native Plant Society, the Idaho Botanical Garden established the Idaho Native Plant Garden in 1990. This garden aims to showcase a selection of Idaho's diverse flora, educate visitors about the region's botanical heritage, and emphasize the importance of native plants. The garden features a growing list of native grasses, forbs, trees, and shrubs that thrive in the high desert climate. A small pond and waterfall exhibit a variety of native wetland plants, while a petrified log from the Owyhee Mountain Range showcases the deep biological history of the region.

Lewis and Clark Native Plant Garden

Opened in May 2006, the Lewis and Clark Native Plant Garden commemorates the bicentennial of the Lewis & Clark Expedition (1804-1806). This garden displays a selection of plants collected during the expedition, focusing on the 145 species collected between Great Falls, Montana, and The Dalles, Oregon. Organized into four zones - Canyon, Prairie, Mountain, and Wetland - the garden features plants and other features characteristic of their respective ecological communities. The Gathering Place, located at the garden entrance, showcases a green roof planted with native forbs and grasses and draws inspiration from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and Indigenous Peoples' kivas. Interpretive signs inform visitors about the significance of the expedition and the contributions of Indigenous Peoples to its success, as well as highlight the ethnobotanical uses of the plants.