Thomas E. Ricks Gardens - BYU Idaho Gardens
Discover the beauty hidden within the 10-Acre Ricks Garden on the BYU-Idaho campus.
525 South Center Street
Rexburg, Idaho 83460
(208) 496-1411This 10 acre garden isused by the entire school and surrounding communities. The garden was originally established in 1977 to facilitate outdoor teaching for the Horticulture Department at Ricks College. More recently, it has been completely revised and is now the Thomas E. Ricks Horticulture Demonstration Gardens, a main focal point of the BYU Idaho Campus.
The garden today is a result of collaboration of students, faculty, and professionals. Over the years many other campus departments, wards, clubs and community members have used the gardens for various activities.Often students perform service in planting and maintaining the beautiful beds of flowers, shrubs, and trees. The gardens are open to the public, and have become a popular site for visits to the area from many parts of the world.
The Gardens provide beautiful venues for memorable events. The Gazebo and Picnic Pavilion may be reserved for wedding receptions, company parties, reunions, and other group events.
Horticulture Student Involvement
The gardens are constantly changing. Each year, a new feature is added. Throughout the years, students majoring in Horticulture have designed and constructed most of the major features. Students from advanced design courses are responsible for developing the conceptual design image of the garden feature which is then put together by the landscape construction class.
Each year, a project either creates a new feature or reconstructs an aging one. During the summer, those plans on paper are transferred into lumber, stone, and plants as the landscape construction class goes to work. Thus, the Horticulture Demonstration Gardens grow and will continue to expand each year.
