Vander Veer Botanical Park
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The Vander Veer Botanical Park is a 33 acres (134,000 m²) botanical garden in Davenport, Iowa. It is believed to be one of the first botanical parks west of the Mississippi River.
Vander Veer Park was established in 1885. The city of Davenport purchased the 33 acres of land for $13.00.[1] The land was the site of the old Scott County Fairgrounds. Olaf Benson, a Chicago landscape engineer, designed the park in the style of New York City’s famous park Central Park.[1] Vander Veer was originally named Central Park.
Its grounds are home to an extensive collection of trees, both native and introduced, including many planted in the early 1890s. Its gardens include annual and perennial beds, a conservatory with tropical plants and changing floral displays, a Rose Garden, a Grand Allée, a Children's Sculpture garden, and a Hosta Glade with over 150 kinds of hosta (recognized as a National Display Garden by the American Hosta Society). By 1910, to house plants year round, heated greenhouses were built. In 1912, the Park was renamed Vander Veer Botanical Park in honor of A.W. Vander Veer, who was the first secretary of the Davenport Park Board of Commissioners.[1]
By World War I, Vander Veer Park boasted a conservatory, music pavilion, and decorative fountains. During winder, ice-skating was permitted when the lagoon froze over. In 1997, the installation of a crane statue carved from a local tree stump. The statue has since fallen victim to the weather. Plans have been made to replace it with another work by the same artist.[1]
Vander Veer Park continues to evolve and expand its delights to the public. The Botanical Conservatory offers floral displays throughout the year. The Municipal Rose Garden, which boasts almost 145 different varieties, is an All-America Rose Selections (AARS) garden, tended by the Tri-City Rose and Garden Club. The Hosta Glade, donated, installed and maintained by the Quad-City Hosta Society, was, in 2003, one of the first gardens registered as an American Hosta Society National Display Garden. And the All-America Selections Display Garden is one of only 180 public gardens in the US, Canada, and Japan that grow AAS winners for display.
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