North Dakota State University Gardens celebrate 20 years with tours, sheep and jazz on July 29
North Dakota State University’s Horticulture Research and Demonstration Gardens mark their 20th anniversary this year and the Department of Plant Sciences is commemorating the milestone with its largest celebration to date. On July 29, the community is invited to an event full of blooms, learning and family-friendly fun culminating in an evening of live music among the flowers.
Nestled on the corner of 12th Avenue North and 18th Street in Fargo, North Dakota, the gardens are a living classroom that interactively connects people to the art and science of plants with a focus on regionally adapted plants, environmental stewardship practices and historical plant conservation.
Notable garden collections include the vibrant annual flower trials, ornamental grass collection, sustainable waterwise plants, the Tanya Lita Chalimonczyk Memorial Perennial Garden and native pollinator plants. The highlight is the historic daylily display garden, the largest public collection of daylily cultivars in the country.
“We’ve been working hard to prepare the gardens and they will be a feast for the eyes,” says Esther McGinnis, NDSU Extension horticulturist.
The celebration kicks off indoors at the NDSU Peltier Complex from 1:30 to 4 p.m. with a free gardening workshop. Topics include:
- 50 Tips to Make Us All Better Gardeners - Don Kinzler, NDSU Extension - Cass County horticulturist
- Evolution of the NDSU Gardens: Past, Present and Future - Barbara Laschkewitsch, NDSU garden manager
- What’s Special About Daylilies? - Esther McGinnis, Director of the NDSU Extension Master Gardener Program
Space is limited for the free indoor presentations and registration is required.
The outdoor festivities begin at 4 p.m., and a special announcement will be made at 4:15 p.m. The event will feature walking tours of the flower gardens at 4:30 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. A light meal will be served under the tent at 5 p.m. while supplies last. At 5:30 p.m., Don Kinzler will present an interactive demonstration entitled, Grow Your Best Annual Flowers Ever.
New this year, educational booths for adults and children will be dispersed throughout the garden on topics such as emerald ash borer, NDSU tree releases, know where your cereal crops come from, weed identification and pollinator conservation. Extension Master Gardeners will also be on hand to answer yard and garden questions.
Kids will love the live sheep learning station, courtesy of the NDSU Sheep Unit from 4 to 6 p.m.
“The NDSU Sheep Unit and the garden developed an unexpected but mutually beneficial collaboration,” says McGinnis. “Faced with a waste product, the Sheep Unit offered its composted manure to the gardens. We gratefully accepted this offer and used the composted manure as a soil amendment for our depleted flower beds.”
Extension Master Gardeners will be on site to accept donations of fresh garden produce and canned goods to benefit the Fargo Emergency Food Pantry.
Cap off the evening with the Ryne Ortez Trio performing live in the gardens at 6:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. The trio is a local jazz ensemble composed of a string base, saxophone and drums.
“Whether you’re a lifelong gardener, a curious beginner or just looking for a beautiful evening out, this 20th anniversary celebration has something for everyone,” shares McGinnis.
To register for the indoor gardening workshop and for a detailed schedule of events, visit https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/plant-sciences/research/horticulture-research-demonstration/20years
NDSU Agriculture Communication – July 17, 2025
Source: Esther McGinnis, 701-231-7971, esther.mcginnis@ndsu.edu
Editor: Kelli Anderson, 701-231-6136, kelli.c.anderson@ndsu.edu
