Horticulture | West Des Moines, IA

City Horticulture Services

Our Staff Horticulturist, Christine 'Chris' Harmeyer, leads a team that maintains the beauty of West Des Moines. They care for landscaped areas across the city, including:

Valley Junction: 52 permanent planters, a rain garden, and a rooftop garden.
Parks and Facilities: 22 City parks and 13 City facilities.
Public Spaces: 2 aquatic centers, 1 cemetery, and 2 trail segments.

In total, the team manages over 200 landscaped beds across nearly 3 acres of land.

Meet Chris Harmeyer

Chris has loved plants her entire life. She chose a career in public gardens to transform plain spaces into beautiful landscapes using a variety of trees, shrubs, and flowers.

Experience and Education

Chris holds a degree in Horticulture from Iowa State University. Before joining West Des Moines, she gained extensive experience at several prestigious gardens, including:

Reiman Gardens (Ames, IA)
Lauritzen Gardens (Omaha, NE)
Philbrook Museum of Art (Tulsa, OK)
University of Kansas Medical Center Botanic Gardens

Our Vision

Chris is dedicated to bringing fresh ideas to our city’s planters and landscapes. She believes that beautiful, shared outdoor spaces improve the health, well-being, and overall quality of life for everyone in our community.

Have a question?
Please use our SeeClickFix tool to report issues or request information.

Free viewers are required for some of the attached documents.
They can be downloaded by clicking on the icons below.

Acrobat Reader