Plants, Local Foods, and Outdoor Spaces

The event begins indoors at the NDSU Peltier Complex from 2:00 to 3:45 pm with two concurrent tracks of gardening seminars. Space is limited for the free indoor presentations and advance registration is required.

The edible gardening sessions include:

• Raspberries and Apples – Dr. David Dai
• Hardy Grapes – Dr. Harlene Hatterman-Valenti
• Grafting Tomatoes –Dr. Chiwon Lee

The ornamental landscape sessions feature:

• Ash Replacement Trees – Dr. Todd West
• Demystifying Ornamental Shrub Pruning – Dr. Esther McGinnis
• The Perennials I’d Rescue First if I Had to Move – Don Kinzler

The celebration outdoors begins at 3:30 pm in the NDSU Horticulture Research and Demonstration Gardens at the corner of 18th St. and 12th Ave. North. The event will celebrate the 10th anniversary of Veggies for the Pantry, an NDSU Extension Master Gardener project that collects fresh produce from home gardeners for local food pantries. Over the past decade, this initiative has collected over 130,000 pounds of fresh vegetables and fruits to benefit local pantries. To mark the milestone, Master Gardeners will collect both canned and fresh produce donations throughout the event.

The highlight of the event is the NDSU Historic Daylily Garden, which should be at peak bloom. Home to approximately 2000 daylily cultivars, it is the nation’s largest public collection of daylilies. NDSU is currently pursuing recognition through the American Public Gardens Association’s Plant Collections Network, a designation for nationally important plant collections. If approved, the daylily garden would join important collections such as Denver Botanic Gardens’ Alpines of the World, Longwood Gardens’ waterlilies, and the lilac collection at the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University.

The garden event will feature walking tours of the annual and perennial flower gardens at 4:30 and 5:30 pm, educational booths scattered throughout the garden and Drs. Alan Zuk and Deying Li will be on hand to answer lawn questions at 5:00 pm. Extension Master Gardener Diagnosticians will be available until 6:30 to identify plant problems and provide gardening advice.

We are proud to offer this annual event free of charge. If you would like to support the mission of NDSU Horticulture Research and Demonstration Gardens, please consider making a donation.