History of the Heard Nursery

Heard Gardens

Clyde Heard and his wife, Eunice, founded Heard Landscape Services in 1928. Clyde, known for the motto “the right plant in the right place,” first ran the nursery and landscaping business from his home on Hickman Road in Des Moines, where he sold bare-root trees and shrubs. His specialties were flowering crabapples and lilacs. After developing a portfolio of landscape projects, including the Iowa State Capitol grounds, Clyde moved the business to Beaver Avenue so it could spread its roots on five acres of land.

Clyde’s son, Bill Heard, returned to Des Moines in 1939 from the University of Nebraska to work for the family business. Bill later took over the business and purchased 14 acres of land on Merle Hay Road in Johnston, where he moved the nursery in 1956. Heard Gardens was on both sides of what is now Johnston Boulevard, East of Merle Hay Road.

Bill and his wife Kay lived in a house on the property. Bill was active in the Men’s Garden Club of America and served as President of the National Landscape Association. He also served as a landscape advisor for the White House grounds under four U.S. presidents, He created and registered the Clyde Heard Lilac and the Green Columnar Maple tree. Many of his horticulture books and pictures are now in the Johnston (Station) Historical Society archives.

Bob Rennebohm and his wife, MaryAnne, purchased Heard Gardens Ltd. In 1991. Over the next 16 years, the couple preserved the company’s reputation as Des Moines’ premier landscape architectural design firm. Heard Gardens was known for having the largest selection of unique and high-quality plant material and won many local and national landscape design awards. Heard Gardens was also recognized in The New York Times, Midwest Living, Fine Gardening, Martha Stewart Living, and Landscape Architecture.

In addition to Heard Gardens, several other nurseries operated in Johnston, causing the city to call its annual summer festival “Green Days’”

In 2001, Heard Gardens moved to West Des Moines, Wright Service Corp., purchased Heard Gardens and merged its landscaping business and Wright Tree Care’s residential tree care business to form Wright Outdoor Solutions.

 

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