Conceptualized in 1977, the Thomas E. Ricks Horticultural Gardens began when Dr. Kim D. Black, a horticultural professor at Ricks College, was charged with creating the horticulture program. Through the years, the 10-acre land plot had transformed into a complex topography of hills, ponds, apple orchards, and thematic structures.
Today, the Ricks Gardens is one of the finest show gardens in the western states. and is the largest research and display garden in Eastern Idaho. It also serves as one of the most capable horticulture classrooms where students get onsite, hands-on preparation for their future careers.
The Ultimate Classroom
The Ricks Gardens offers a unique experience for horticulture students that they will get nowhere else. While most university campus grounds are maintained by ground crews, the Ricks Gardens are solely a product of the hard work and imagination of the Department Applied Plant Science.
Horticulture students enter a ready-made, hands-on classroom on the BYU-Idaho campus that offers them practical experience in gardening, resource conservation, and design. The gardens become a creative canvas for students to master the principles of horticulture beyond books and classroom lectures. In this setting, horticulture comes alive.
A Living Laboratory
The overall purpose of the Ricks Gardens is to serve as a outdoor laboratory for horticulture students to practice what they learned in the classroom. It is an active place where science and art come together in a fruitful marriage of skill, dedication, and beauty.
In addition to the gardens, over 150 species of fruit-bearing apple trees are cultivated on five acres. Students propagate and maintain the orchards, and the community comes to pick apples and marvel at the beauty and symmetry of the gardens.
“We can talk about stuff with the classroom, then we go out and practice it in reality,” said BYU-Idaho horticulture professor Reese Nelson.
Built By Students For Students
The vision of the Ricks Gardens was to eventually create a display garden for Ricks College students, the Rexburg community, and the horticultural industry. “Plants aren’t the only things that grow in gardens,” observed BYU-Idaho Human Resources Director Beth Baldwin, “people do, too.”
“The garden, the greenhouses and other demonstration gardens are unique because the students design the gardens, the students build the gardens and the students maintain the gardens,” added Dr. Nelson.
The Ricks Gardens has blossomed under the capable hands of horticulture students for nearly 50 years and continues to improve each year. The gardens are frequented by many students and the public each day. They take breaks there, go on walks, study, exercise, or just enjoy being in nature.
Thematic Gardens and Architecture
Every space in the Ricks Gardens was designed and built by horticulture students. While many of the spaces, or rooms, feature thematic aesthetics, such as aesthetics from Italy and Asia, there are also some historical aspects to the gardens that are deeply rooted in BYU-Idaho’s legacy.
For example, in the Italian room, a stone Roman arch was constructed from materials taken from the original 1903 Jacob Spori Building, which was demolished in November 2000.
The gardens also offer open spaces for recreation or secluded spaces for studying or meditation.
A Lasting Legacy
When President Ezra Taft Benson visited Ricks College in 1979, he toured and dedicated the gardens and said, “Keep doing what you’re doing.”
Student projects in the gardens are more than just playing in the dirt. They build a lasting legacy that inspires other students and all visitors to the gardens. Horticulture graduates often return to the gardens to see how their contributions have blossomed. They love seeing how the gardens are enjoyed and have become an essential part of the unique campus experience of BYU-Idaho.
“Cultivate the earth, and cultivate your minds,” taught President Brigham Young, “render the earth so pleasant that when you look upon your labors you may do so with pleasure, and that angels may delight to come and visit.”
The cultivating experience that horticulture students gain from working in the Ricks Gardens makes them highly sought after for internships and employment after graduation. The joy of being a part of the Ricks Gardens is also personally rewarding to them.
“There’s not many places where you can affect so many people’s lives,” said former BYU-Idaho student David Hokanson, “and I just am passionate about arranging [the color and beauty of the natural world] in a way that makes people feel happy.”
Sources
BYU-Idaho Scroll — 3 Little-Known Facts About the Ricks Gardens
BYU–Idaho Applied Plant Science Department — Our Garden
BYU–Idaho Applied Plant Science Department — Thomas E. Ricks Garden Info
Only In Your State — You’ll Find Hundreds of Plants at the Thomas E. Ricks Gardens in Idaho
Y Magazine — A Miracle in Rexburg
BYU–Idaho Perspective Magazine — Thomas E. Ricks Gardens as an Educational Tool
Deseret News — BYU-Idaho Has Delightful Garden Ideas