Last Friday was our day off.  We met our friends from Eastgate at Reiman Gardens in Ames Iowa.  Rita and Ed Frette live in Story City, but have been wintering in Eastgate for a number of years.  Ed plays pool with Rich.  Really great people, as is all the people of Eastgate.  We have seen the advertisements of Reiman Gardens on Tv, so I was excited to visit.

Reiman Gardens consists of 17 acres of absolutely beautiful gardens.  It is an educational resource for the Iowa State University.  It is also a major attraction for Central Iowa.  It consists of 26 gardening areas, a butterfly wing, an emergence area, where cocoons can be studied and viewed, conservatory, gift shop,  and private rental areas for weddings, graduations and meetings.  Their are many agricultural gardens within the grounds.  All produce is donated to local agencies and food pantries.  We met Rita and Ed in the parking lot and proceeded to the Butterfly Wing first.

The butterfly’s were very active when we entered.  It was beautiful inside, full of tropical plants flowers and butterfly’s flying everywhere.

Their were many feeding areas, filled with fresh fruits.  As we walked the path, we seen so many different colored and varietys of butterfly’s.

This is a beautiful Blue Morpho.

This is a green butterfly that blends into to foliage.  Finally we entered a small area after inspection for hitchhikers….lol…We inspected each other again and then exited the area.  Now we went out to the garden areas.

What an absolutely beautiful site.  The beautiful settings, the grasses, the flowers….Gorgeous…..

A beautiful arbor area, complete with a brick walkway and many benches.

Such a beautiful place to just sit and enjoy the day.

The Gardens has an Annual Theme that they display.  This year is the Lego Art Exhibit, sculptured by Sean Kenney.  Scattered through out the gardens are 13 eye popping displays consisting of 500,000 legos.  Astounding to see…..

Herd of Deer…..84,442 legos….Momma and Baby….so sweet…

This is a close up….amazing

Gardner and Grandchild……46,940 Legos…….This one is so life like…..

Dragonfly…..27,788  sitting in the lake surrounded by lily pads and beautiful grasses…

Pansy with a Bee…..29,314 Legos

Bird Bath with Birds, Bees, and Squirrel…..14,802 Legos….This was beautiful.  It was by this white picket fence as we walked on a small garden path.  So pretty.

Galapagos Tortoise with Darwin Finch…..23,317 Legos….This little guy was also sitting along the garden path in the shade.  He looked so real.

Hummingbird on Trumpet Flower….61,107 Legos…..Now this one is amazing.  One wonders, how is the weight of the hummingbird supported? It is only connected from its beak to the center of the bud.

Wheelbarrow….29,900 Legos…..I came upon this one and didn’t realize at first, it was made from Legos….so life like….It is sitting in a garden with a hose in it.

Monarch Butterfly on Milkweed….39,708 Legos…..sitting in the middle of a sea of flowers.

Corn Spider…..16,492 Legos….We followed the map and went into this building.  We asked someone if they had found the Corn Spider……They said “Look Up”…..OMG….Their it was, Hanging above our heads….lol….

We entered the Conservatory to find the Peacock……68,827 Legos…It was prominently displayed in the center.

This was the back side of the Peacock.

On the way to the Gift Shop we found the Bonsai Tree in a Showcase…..9,143 Legos

Mosaics with Two Face Cut Outs as Ants…..12,990 Legos…..lol….Rita and Ed….

Along the way we also seen “Elwood”  The Worlds Largest Gnome….These were the most Beautiful Gardens.  In 17 areas, they have compacted so many different settings….Some  flower gardens, vegetable and herb gardens.  Beautiful paths of gravel, boardwalks, with wooden benches surrounding a tree.  Many small natural areas fenced with trees, small hills, small ponds with benches or chaise lounges.  So private and relaxing looking.  A different setting as you follow the path around the next tree.  Their was so much to see and so much I cannot even describe…something compacted in every corner and looks so natural and beautiful.  Can you only imagine, in the spring and Tulip season?….A different view every season, ever-changing….After we visited the Gift Shop, we exited and left Ames with Rita and Ed to go visit their home in Story City which was only 10 miles away.

The next blog will be about the rest of our day with them.  Story City is home to a Restored Antique Carousel....an authentic 1913 Hershell-Spillman Merry Go Round……I will tell you the story of how this Carousel was attained and what a wonderful asset it is to the town today.  Thank You so Much Rita and Ed, such a wonderful day…..

Don’t miss out on the next blog…..Another AWESOME STORY…..