The Better Homes & Gardens Test Garden Here's where the BHG team tries out thousands of plants and various growing methods to help readers have better gardens. Photo: Jason Donnelly The green thumb rule in the Better Homes & Gardens Test Garden® is "you have to grow it to know it." Whether it's evaluating a new plant variety or trying a gardening technique, we do the ground work (literally) to help you grow a better garden. We keep all types of home gardeners—from first-timers to masters—in mind as we glean tips and techniques to share, along with plant recommendations that won't disappoint. The mission of the BHG Test Garden is to serve gardeners nationwide by providing garden-tested, firsthand information about plants, gardening methods, garden styles, projects, and ideas. But despite its name, the Test Garden is not just a space for growing plants. Situated on half a city block near the corporate headquarters of Better Homes & Gardens magazine in Iowa, this refreshing pocket of colorful plants serves as an outdoor studio for staff photographers, a venue for corporate entertaining, and a meeting and lunch spot for employees (as well as the public during certain times of the year). Carson Downing America's Backyard Though it's located in an urban setting, the BHG Test Garden is landscaped in the style of a backyard—or, actually, multiple backyards: No matter where you are, if you turn ever so slightly, you will have a whole new vista. In all, there are 22 distinct areas in the Test Garden. These include a mini meadow, a conifer collection, raised beds for veggies and herbs, a pond complete with waterfall, and even a small rose garden. Throughout these spaces, hundreds of perennials, trees, vines, and shrubs thrive, enhanced by a changing palette of annuals and bulbs. The Better Homes & Gardens editors and Test Garden visitors find new plants tucked into shady corners, sunny borders, and colorful containers all the time, thanks to Test Garden Manager Sandra Gerdes and her team of seasonal gardeners. How We Test Plants Similar to the way the BHG Test Kitchen evaluates new recipes, the BHG Test Garden is its outdoor counterpart that puts new plants to the real world test. To test new varieties and offer fresh ideas to BHG audiences, parts of the garden change every year. Arbors and trellises are replaced as needed with new designs. Old plants come out to make room for new ones. Many of those new plants are provided by breeders from across the country who want their newest plants to be tested out in the challenging Midwestern climate. These plants are often not yet available at nurseries and garden centers. If a variety proves to be an outstanding performer that delivers on its promises, BHG is ready to tell readers about it when the plant gets introduced to the market. Mark Kane, former BHG Garden Editor The idea hit me one day that our magazine had a food department and a Test Kitchen where recipes were developed and tested for our readers. I proposed the idea of creating an on-site test garden that could also serve as a photo studio. — Mark Kane, former BHG Garden Editor Better Homes & Gardens BHG Test Garden Timeline 1996: Mark Kane, the BHG garden editor at the time, came up with the idea for a dedicated space adjacent to the magazine's offices for testing plants and gardening techniques. (Before that, plants were tested at garden editors' homes.) He sketched out the original concepts for his vision. 1997: Blueprints and plant lists were drawn up by Perennial Gardens, a local landscape design firm, based on Kane's initial ideas. Groundbreaking began with demolishing existing buildings on the property. 1998: Hardscape installation began in spring, which included laying out a permanent main pathway and central courtyard, complete with a glass tiered fountain. Sandra Gerdes was hired as garden manager in June, and planting began. The Test Garden was officially founded in October with an open house and dedication for Meredith employees. 1999: The Test Garden logo created by Mark Kane appeared in Better Homes & Gardens magazine for the first time in the March issue. Dahlquist Clay Works (a local company no longer in business) also created two special tiles with the logo imprinted on them that still grace the garden today. 2000: The Test Garden opened to the public as a way to share the green space with the local community. As a working garden and outdoor photo studio, open hours are limited to Fridays from noon until 2 pm, May through September. 2009: A new pergola with lattice panels, designed and built by WOOD magazine partners, replaced the original garden room structure. 2015: WOOD magazine collaborators built a custom arbor to replace the original sitting area near the water garden. 2017: A custom leaf-shaped deck was created as a unique photo and video set in the Test Garden. Making planks of wood curve enough for the design proved an interesting challenge! 2018: The Test Garden celebrated its 20th anniversary with a feature story in Better Homes & Gardens, detailing its many contributions to the magazine's gardening advice over the years. 2022: Better Homes & Gardens magazine celebrates its 100th anniversary with a segment on the CBS Sunday Morning show, which highlighted the Test Garden. Celebrating 25 Years of Testing the Best Garden Plants Meet the BHG Test Garden Staff Sandra Gerdes Test Garden Manager Sandra Gerdes has been the manager of the Better Homes & Gardens Test Garden® since it was founded in 1998. She grows and evaluates hundreds of plants for their performance in a home garden setting. Read more Sandra Gerdes The ultimate boss is Mother Nature. In a garden, no two weeks are the same. You have to learn to adapt, just like a hardy perennial. — Sandra Gerdes Viveka Neveln Senior Garden Editor, BHG Viveka Neveln is the digital senior garden editor at Better Homes & Gardens. She covers gardening, plants, landscaping, garden design, trends, pest control, and more. Viveka loves getting people excited about the botanical world and feels happiest with dirt under her nails. Read more