With lilacs, timing is important. They bloom in spring and early summer, and they are just beginning.
When I got home on Friday, I saw that our lilacs were beginning to bloom in the backyard, and I knew that it was the perfect weekend to go out to Ewing Park and the Lilac Arboretum. I have been there many times.
From downtown drive out Indianola Road to the southeast; continue southeast past SE 14th St until you reach Easter Lake Drive then turn right (between the Ewing Park pillars) then park. (map) You will immediately see the lilacs and smell them too. You will see a few crab apples too (but not as many as in Water Works Park).
The Lilac Arboretum in Ewing Park is a welcoming place.
- it’s open and expansive
- it’s a good place for a picnic
- dogs are welcome
- kids can run
- grandma can walk
- Jim’s Johns are available
For Ewing Park the Lilac Arboretum is just one event. More happens throughout the year.
- frisbee golf
- the soap box derby
- BMX racing
- shelters and grills
- playground equipment
- playground
Des Moines is a great city. You will get to know another piece of Des Moines when you visit Ewing Park. The timing is right; the lilacs are just starting.
photos by James G. Lindberg
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