Facts about the Thomas E. Ricks Botannical Gardens:
  • There are approximately 150 students currently in the BYU-Idaho Horticulture program.
  • The total area of the Gardens is 460,713 square feet (10.15 acres).
  • The Apple Orchard comprises 210,453 square feet (4.83 acres).
  • There are approximately 540 apple trees in the orchard. If you ate "an apple a day" for 16 consecutive month, you would nver have to eat from the same tree!
  • Approximately 90% of the plants in the Gardens are grown in the BYU-Idaho greenhouses.
  • Flowers and shhrubs cover 79, 477 square feet (1.82 acres) of the Gardens area.
  • There are 16,090 square feet of hard surfaces in the Gardens.
  • The newest garden addition is the "Beaver's Dam."

The Thomas E. Ricks Gardens started as a dream of Professor Kim Black. In the late 1970's he proposed the idea for a ten-acre demonstration garden. Since its beginnings in 1977, the Gardens have grown to become the largest research and display garden in Eastern Idaho.

The Gardens serve as an outdoor classroom for the BYU-Idaho Horticulture students, which enables them to gain practical experience in the landscape industry. The Gardens also serve as a testing ground for new varieties of plants.

The Gardens are free and open to the public year round.

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