Kansas State University

As part of a yearlong celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Kansas State University Gardens, the Friends of the Gardens invite members of the community to join a public trip to see two nationally recognized botanical gardens in Nebraska and participate on a purchasing visit to a premier retail nursery.

The trip’s charter bus will depart at 7 a.m. Thursday, May 22, from the east Manhattan Town Center parking lot near JCPenney.

Highlights of the trip include guided tours of the Sunken Gardens in Lincoln, followed by the Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha.

The Sunken Gardens will have approximately 35,000 annuals planted by that date, and the rose garden will be blooming, said tour coordinator Tim Lindemuth. A train will give tour goers an overall view of Omaha’s vast Lauritzen Gardens. Following the ride, there will be time to explore. Staff said the iris, peony, rose and baptisia, or false indigo, collections will be in bloom.

The bus trip will conclude with a plant shopping spree at Mulhall’s Nursery, Omaha’s premier retail garden center. Lindemuth said interested shoppers should bring a laundry basket lined with plastic that can be stored in the bus’s luggage compartment for plant purchases.

An executive box lunch will be served with several meat, gluten-free and vegan choices, as selected when registering for the tour.

The tour cost is $125 per person and includes round-trip bus transportation, garden admissions, train ride, guided tours and lunch. Registration and payment should be made online at k-state.edu/gardens/150.

The tour is limited to 40 travelers and returns by 7 p.m. the same day. The deadline to register is May 8. Contact tour coordinator and Friends of the Garden board member Tim Lindemuth at timlind@k-state.edu or the K-State Gardens at 785-532-3271 with any questions.