Hidden Landscape Gems

Quad City Botanic Center

by Heather Prince

Tucked along the Mississippi River, the Quad City Botanic Center features a series of gardens and plant collections surrounding a 6,444-square-foot atrium stuffed with tropical trees, shrubs, and flowering plants. Established in 1998, the conservatory space soars to 70 feet and is filled with palms, aroids, ginger, and more. A 14-foot waterfall adds music to the curving paths and empties into a burbling stream and koi pond. Fruit-bearing plants are given special priority and include banana, vanilla, coffee, and cocoa.

Winding around the atrium, the Scott County Regional Authority Rare Conifer Collection features some extraordinary specimens, including a large lacebark pine. This collection was donated by the late Chub Harper, the former grounds supervisor for John Deere’s world headquarters in Moline, IL, an avid plant collector, and a founding member of the American Conifer Society. An extraordinary conifer collector, you can also visit a Harper collection at Hidden Lake Gardens in Ann Arbor, MI. The plants at the Botanical Center were raised on his property and carefully transplanted to the gardens where they thrive today. Make sure to seek out these mature specimens.

This is also a top destination for families. A vibrant children’s garden surrounding a tumbling creek stretches along the rear of the property. A quaint cottage filled with activities greets you at the gate. A large splash pad inhabited by a jovial crocodile is a delight for children and the croc is joined by spitting scallops and an impressive sturgeon. A veggie patch, play equipment, picnic area, pond, and more are planted with native plants and pollinator-friendly ornamentals. There are plans to extend the children’s garden as it is clearly the most popular area.

There is also a charming woodland fairy garden called Pat’s Garden filled with fairy homes and nestled under the branches of spruce trees and a bur oak. Visitors are encouraged to explore and build their own fairy house.

The Heartland Railway Exhibit features a 1:24th-scale outdoor model train in a raised garden for easy viewing by small folk. Open seasonally May through October, four trains run through the trees and perennials on almost 800 feet of track. Model buildings and trestle bridges are dotted among boulders and miniature conifers.

A Scrambled Alphabet garden skirts one wall of the atrium conservatory. Hexagonal mosaic tiles with each letter dot the beds and are surrounded by a variety of plants beginning with the requisite letter. Some are perennials, but more are annuals and tropicals that are replanted each year. The Quad City Botanical Center is a wonderful example of perhaps disparate collections thoughtfully knit together. The conifer combinations are layered and lovely, offering inspiration on how to incorporate them into garden beds. The children’s garden provides ample ideas for designing progressive spaces for kids of all ages. If you are in the area, make this a priority stop to refresh and refine ideas.

2525 4th Avenue Rock Island, IL www.qcgardens.com Hours: Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm; Sunday 11am-5pm

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