Idaho Botanical Garden Opens Massive 10-Acre Boise Expansion

Twenty-four years ago, I walked into the Idaho Botanical Garden for the first time with three pretty young daughters.

It was Christmas 2002.

We had only been living in Idaho for a few months, and my girls were 9, 11 and 15. We decided to check out this thing we’d heard about called Winter Garden aGlow.

I can still remember their faces. Thousands of Christmas lights, the beautiful gardens, hot chocolate and families walking around together. It was magical!

We were brand new to Boise, and it was one of those early experiences that made me realize just how special this community we’d moved to really was.

Fast-forward 24 years.

Friday morning, I stood at the Idaho Botanical Garden again. This time watching them cut the ribbon on something that will dramatically change the place where my family made one of our first Idaho Christmas memories and they’re nowhere near finished.

How Much Bigger Is the Idaho Botanical Garden?

The Idaho Botanical Garden officially celebrated the completion of the first major spaces in its Community Grows Here Garden Expansion Friday morning.

The project adds 10 acres, increasing the developed Garden footprint from 15 acres to 25 acres.

It’s the largest physical transformation in the Garden’s history.

There’s a new Parking Garden, the Borbonus Family Educational Arboretum and a huge new Event Lawn supported by Regence BlueShield of Idaho. There are also new pathways, accessible spaces and infrastructure that will eventually support even more gardens and facilities.

The Garden says more than 140,000 people visit every year, and this expansion is designed to give all of those people more room to gather, learn and simply enjoy being outside.

But one thing Boise City Council Member Jimmy Hallyburton told me Friday is that this didn’t happen overnight.

“The ideas, of course, last a lot longer,” Hallyburton said. “Erin, the director here, has been working and thinking about this for years and years and years, trying to solve issues with the parking lot, trying to create a garden, trying to create new spaces for people to come and enjoy.”

Then he summed it up pretty simply:

“This is years in the making, and it’s so exciting to be here today.”

What Will the Botanical Garden Expansion Mean for Boise?

I asked Hallyburton what he thinks this expansion will mean for the community. His answer really gets to the heart of why this is more than just another construction project.

“I think everybody already knows that Idaho Botanical Garden is such a great gathering space all year round, whether it’s the garden or the concerts or Garden Glow,” he told me. “It’s a place where people come together.”

And as Boise continues growing, he believes having places like this becomes even more important.

“When a nonprofit is able to expand like this and continue to offer even more services to a growing community, it’s just exactly what we want to see.”

There’s also something important to remember if you visit the new space right away.

It’s not finished growing. Literally. The grass is still coming in, flowers still need to bloom and more trees will be planted.

Hallyburton told me that someone who visits this weekend could return just a few months from now and see something noticeably different.

“It really takes somebody with a vision and an organization like Idaho Botanical Garden to say, ‘We’re going to take this blank field and turn it into something beautiful for our community.”

I love that description, because that’s really what you’re looking at right now. It's not the finished product, just the beginning of one.

What Does the Expansion Mean for Winter Garden aGlow?

Okay, I had to ask this question, considering Winter Garden aGlow was my introduction to the Garden 24 years ago, I wanted to know what all this new space means for one of Boise’s favorite Christmas traditions.

Jimmy’s answer? A lot... “People who’ve been coming to Winter Garden Glow for years and years and years, they’ve seen some changes every single year,” Hallyburton said. “They always try to improve it.”

Now they’ll have an entirely new area to work with, along with a new entrance and a huge plaza where people can gather.

“This is going to be a transformative experience for Winter Garden Glow, for people who come to see the garden, for concertgoers, you name it,” he said. “This is really a huge deal for our city.”

So, yes... the place that blew my daughters’ minds at Christmas in 2002 is about to get even cooler.

Are More Concerts and Events Coming to the Idaho Botanical Garden?

The expansion isn’t only about gardens. One of the biggest additions is the new Event Lawn supported by Regence BlueShield of Idaho, which was specifically designed for concerts, performances, celebrations, educational programs and community events.

Hallyburton described it to me as a natural amphitheater and said it opens up entirely new programming possibilities.

“Soon they’ll actually be able to hold outdoor concerts in an area built for concerts,” he said.

And that’s in addition to the new arboretum and other spaces opening during this phase.

The Garden says the expansion can also increase educational opportunities, create additional outdoor classroom space and eventually provide new places focused on wellness and conservation.

Is the Boise Farmers Market Moving to the Botanical Garden?

The long-term plan includes a permanent, year-round home for the Boise Farmers Market at the Idaho Botanical Garden.

The Garden and Boise Farmers Market have already begun working together on that vision through their Rooted Together partnership.

Hallyburton told me Friday that the Farmers Market already has some office space at the Garden and that they will be bringing the market itself to the property starting this November.

What’s Coming in Phase Two of the Idaho Botanical Garden Expansion?

As big as Friday’s ribbon cutting was, this is only the beginning.

The Garden’s future plans include:

A Visitor & Education Center
An Events Center
A Therapeutic Garden
A Culinary Garden
A Scholar Garden
A permanent home for the Boise Farmers Market
Additional gardens, plant collections and community spaces

The Garden says several of those pieces are still being funded and developed.

“This is phase one,” Hallyburton told me. “There’s a second phase to the project too. So this is a big celebration today, but then the project keeps going after this.”

When Can the Public See the New Idaho Botanical Garden Expansion?

The big public celebration happens Saturday, August 29. Garden members get a Member First Peek from 10 a.m. until noon. Then, beginning at noon, the new spaces will be open to everyone.

The celebration will include live music, local food trucks, family-friendly activities and a chance to explore the new areas.

Admission to the celebration is included with regular Garden admission and is free for Garden members.

And if you haven’t been to the Idaho Botanical Garden in a while, this might be the weekend to change that.

For me, though, standing there Friday morning was a little strange, in a good way.

Twenty-four years ago, I was the new guy in Idaho, walking through Christmas lights with three young daughters and discovering a place we’d never seen before.