QC, That’s Where We Bring People and Plants Together

In celebration of the Quad City Botanical Center’s 25th anniversary on June 20, 2023, they have new exhibits on display highlighting their mission of bringing people and plants together.

The Garden Glass exhibit features over 350 individual pieces of glass, combined for display into 5 garden beds and 2 ponds. The pieces of glass art have been handmade, designed, and installed into the garden landscape by talented local artists at Hot Glass in Downtown Davenport, IA. A majority of the glass art is installed outdoors, with a feature piece in the tropical Sun Garden. This handcrafted exhibit incorporates shapes, colors, patterns, and movements that compliment and amplify the beauty of the gardens. The pieces were made with the Quad City Botanical Center's landscape as inspiration.

The cactus exhibit features cacti from the collection of Allen Dieter, one of the founding members of the Quad City Botanical Center, who cut the ribbon during the center’s grand opening in June of 1998.  It features over 80 cacti, varying in species, size and type of bloom. The collection will remain in the greenhouse for viewing year-round.

The other new, unique exhibit—Plants of the World: People Behind the Plants—honors the personal stories told by Quad Citizens from around the world, who now call the Quad Cities their home. The inside, tropical Sun Garden is home to several different species of plants that can be found all over the world, some of which bring back fond and wonderful memories for the featured storytellers.

Travel through the Sun Garden and learn about their personal connections to plants in the Quad City Botanical Center’s collection such as the banana, papaya, cacao, coffee, and more. Plants of the World, through the stories of featured Quad Citizens, will give a new perspective on the role plants play in our daily lives and how plants serve differently around the world.

The exhibit features interpretive signage and an audio tour, and is included in the price of admission or is free for members. The exhibit will remain in the Sun Garden for viewing through the remainder of 2023.

In honor of their 25th anniversary, the Botanical Center is holding an open house on Saturday, July 8, 2023, from 10AM-5PM. The open house will include a self-guided historic garden walk from 2PM-4PM and free admission all day. The Center is hosting an event that evening for special guests of the gardens.

The Center invites the public to visit the gardens in peak blooming season. Summer highlights at the Botanical Center include the adventurous water play area in the Children’s Garden, colorful perennial and wildflower prairie gardens that attract butterflies, a whimsical fairy wonderland called Pat’s Garden, reflection ponds, and an indoor Tropical Sun Garden with a waterfall. The garden train railway exhibit is open on Sunday 12-4PM.

The popular, outdoor Children's Garden has a water feature to splash around in, play games of giant connect 4, build in the sandboxes, and explore the gardens. The Quad City Botanical Center is open seven days a week and located at 2525 4^th Avenue in Rock Island, Illinois.

What's Next

Over 300 individual pieces of glass will soon be on display at the Quad City Botanical Center through a partnership with Hot Glass, Inc., of the Quad Cities.  Artist Joel Ryser worked with the Quad City Botanical Center horticultural team to identify areas throughout the gardens for the placement of these amazing handblown works of art.  The exhibit will also include a handblown glass chandelier that will be installed in late summer of 2023.  The entire exhibit will be completed by late summer and will be on exhibit for three years.  Additionally, original, handblown glass pieces from Hot Glass are available for sale in the center's gift shop.

The Quad City Botanical Center in Rock Island is expanding their Children’s Garden with the new Storybook Landscapes.  This new experience for guests of all ages will feature a variety of interactive points to engage with nature through favorite and popular childhood storybooks.  It will have a shaded picnic area, acting area, story plaza, group reading structure, and more. The expected completion is later in the fall.