Drake's Harkin Institute

This project was one of several projects that came after we relocated the Sprout Garden and installed the Drake Food Forest.  The Tom and Ruth Harkin Center was initially designed and built to bring an innovative mixture of accessibility and sustainability to the campus experience.  It serves a place for, despite the name, non-partisan research and outreach around policy issues important to Senator Harkin.

Asters blooming as the planting was finished

The stormwater design was functional but never really blossomed.  So, in the summer of 2021, Kelly Norris was commissioned for reimagining the space and what it could be.  Abundant Design was contacted shortly thereafter to collaborate on the installation to bring the first 2000sf renovation to life.

Kelly Norris and Jeff Reiland

Step one was to remove the existing prairie dropseed and white blooming echinacea to prepare the area prior to new plant delivery.  Some of these were relocated to the Sprout rain garden/contour swales.

After the plants were laid out it was time to get planting! #thatsalotofplants

This late in the year my seasonal help had all gone back to school... but my auger in combination with the amended soil helped!  #justkeepplanting

The high planting density will ensure faster establishment and easier maintenance

This new plant selection with ~30 different species and varieties will provide spectacular color, diversity and full season interest for staff, students and visitors.  

A sleeping Monarch... better get a move on!

Once everything was planted, we used our tripod sprinkler setup to keep it watered for the first couple weeks even though it was getting quite cold some of the nights.

This planting was even highlighted in this article 

Greater Des Moines Eco-Friendly Gardens (dsmpartnership.com)

Here is a photo from July of the following year

It was really hitting it stride this summer!

"The Ruth Harkin Garden at The Harkin Institute on Drake University's campus, a living model for how bioswales can look and function in the urban landscape. I'm proud of this #planting we did in 2021, the first of two phases of this project, completed in 2022. 

We can partner with plant life for a more verdant, diverse, and complex ecosystem within the envelope of human activities. Living infrastructure can only fulfill its promise when plants are in the lead. While the concept gets a lot of air time these days, the results often lack vibrant vegetation. We hope this project serves as an example for why initial plant diversity and density matters."  Kelly Norris

Watch for the Phase 2 update!