Hiller Rain Garden
Installed near the Founders Garden on the north side of the current garden footprint, the Hiller Family Rain Garden, made possible by a generous donation from Jayne and George Hiller, is a landscape full of native wildflowers. The naturalistic plant community of this garden represents Iowa wetland communities, including fens and sedge meadows.
Fens are rare ecologies shaped by glaciation and contain running groundwater. Sedge meadows can be thought of as dry marshes and are dominated by grass- like plants called sedges.
The shallow depression of the Hiller Family Rain Garden will capture, clean, and absorb stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces. Rain gardens create landscapes that add beauty, wildlife habitat, and interest while helping manage stormwater more sustainably.