Plants, Local Foods, and Outdoor Spaces
Plants, Local Foods, and Outdoor Spaces is NDSU Plant Science's annual garden open house!
While NDSU Horticulture Research and Demonstration Gardens are open all season from dawn to dusk for guests to visit, this event offers tours from the research team, yard and garden talks and demonstrations, and highlights the Historic Daylily Collection.
Highlights of the 2025 event
2025 marked 20 years of NDSU Horticultural Research and Demonstration Gardens and we held the largest, longest, most well-attended event in our history. We were thrilled to meet roughly 300 friends, old and new, in the gardens on July 29th.
Highlights of the day included our early afternoon talks indoors by Don Kinzler, Cass County Extension Horticulturist, Barbara Laschkewitsch, NDSU Garden Manager, and Dr. Esther McGinnis, Director, NDSU Extension Master Gardener Program.
Outdoor festivities began at 4:00 p.m. with a garden welcome, including our announcement that NDSU has been named a Bee Campus USA.
Visitors of all ages loved petting sheep, courtesy of the NDSU Sheep Unit, as well as learning about the beneficial relationship regarding composted sheep manure as a soil amendment for our nutrient-depleted flower beds. The gardens were filled with interactive booths allowing for exploration on topics such as emerald ash borer, NDSU tree releases, cereal crops, weed identification, pollinator conservation, and plant diagnosis and identification.
Walking tours of the annual and daylily gardens were very popular as was the opportunity for each guest to vote for their favorite annual. 2025 winner is Lisianthus Echo Mix with Celosia Burning Embers in a close second. Third place was a three-way tie between Verbena Vanity, Cleome Queen Mixed, Rudbeckia Denver Daisy.
We ended our day with a light meal and the Ryne Ortez Jazz Trio.
Check out the photos to see highlights of the sheep pen, winning annuals, the gardens, and the jazz group.
Photos from our 2025 event
Support the Gardens
The future is bright at NDSU and we could use your help. Donating funds will keep the gardens looking beautiful for years to come by funding Undergraduate Internships and improving infrastructure through interpretive signage and creation of shady spaces with benches to sit and reflect.
We thank you for your consideration of donating to this beautiful space.
If you have questions about donating, please contact Esther McGinnis at 701.231.7406.
Questions about this annual event can be directed to Esther McGinnis, 701.231.7406.
Interested in participating as a vendor or caterer at our next event?
Contact Shannon Ueker at 701.231.4170.