Iowa State University has managed a horticulture garden since 1914. The first location was north of the Farm House at the Horticulture Research Station. In the early 1960s, the gardens were moved to a site on the northeast corner of the Iowa State University campus north of the power plant. This particular site offered little room for expansion and was surrounded by the campus's industrial zone.

In the early 1990s, faculty in the Horticulture department and university administrators discussed the possibility of moving the gardens to a larger, more visible location to beautify the entrance to the city of Ames and Iowa State University. In 1993, alumnus Roy Reiman and his wife Bobbi generously gave $1.3 million to initiate Phase One of the new gardens. Construction began in 1994 at a location immediately south of Jack Trice Stadium along Elwood Drive (University Boulevard), and Reiman Gardens was officially dedicated in 1995. At its opening, Reiman Gardens covered just five acres, which included the entry court, herb garden, rose garden, campanile garden, Mahlstede Horticulture Learning Center, and a maintenance building. The Gardens have continued to grow over the last eight years to cover fourteen acres. The most recent addition is the Conservatory Complex and Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing, which opened in November 2002.

Rodney Robinson Landscape Architects, a landscape architecture firm in Wilmington, Delaware, designed the Gardens. Robinson was selected because of his experience at other public gardens including Longwood Gardens and the Washington Mall. ISU faculty and staff were also active in the development of the Gardens' master and planting plans.

Daryl Metzger, of Architects Smith Metzger in Des Moines, designed the buildings within the Gardens. The architecture reflects a Midwestern style, inspired by the state's agricultural traditions.

This collection (1973-[ongoing]) contains a variety of slides and photographs pertaining to the Reiman Gardens and previous Iowa State University horticultural gardens. Included are images of the garden construction and plantings, volunteers, visitors, and special events, as well as textual slides.

The collection is arranged in alphabetical order.