Hummingbirds of Iowa

Iowa's oldest and largest public garden, the Iowa Arboretum & Gardens spans 378 acres of community-supported botanical grounds near Madrid, between Ames and Des Moines. The gardens feature over 6,000 accessioned plants including trees, shrubs, and perennials, with dedicated native woodland trails, open prairie restoration areas, and a popular Treehouse Village. Its combination of formal display gardens and naturalistic prairie and woodland trails creates varied habitat that is highly attractive to Ruby-throated Hummingbirds during summer.

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Founded in 1970 by Robert and Frances Bickelhaupt and now stewarded by Eastern Iowa Community Colleges, Bickelhaupt Arboretum is a nationally recognized 15-acre outdoor museum in Clinton on the Mississippi River. It holds one of the top garden conifer collections in the United States (600+ cultivars), along with native prairie grasses, flowering trees, wildflowers, ornamental shrubs, and a bird haven garden. Its location directly on the Mississippi Flyway makes it an excellent spring and fall migration stopover site for Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in addition to summer visitation.

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A vibrant 12-acre public garden and urban oasis in the East Village neighborhood of downtown Des Moines, the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden features stunning indoor and outdoor gardens year-round. The outdoor gardens include native-inspired perennial borders with alliums, coneflowers, and seasonal displays celebrating pollinators including Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. The garden has been noted by regional pollinator advocates for integrating native and near-native plants that support Iowa's pollinator populations throughout summer.

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Situated on the Iowa State University campus in Ames, Reiman Gardens is a 17-acre public botanical garden with over 6,000 types of plants, including a dedicated Pollinator Plant Collection spanning dozens of native and cultivated species attractive to bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Its Buck Rose Collection, Viburnum Collection, and perennial borders offer continuous bloom from spring through fall. The garden is closely tied to ISU's horticultural research and education programs, regularly evaluating plants for pollinator performance.

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