BROOKINGS — South Dakota State University Extension and McCrory Gardens will launch the 2025 summer programming schedule with the Garden Discovery Festival on May 18.

Held from 1 to 5 p.m. CDT at McCrory Gardens in Brookings, the afternoon will include plant sales, educational booths with hands-on activities, guided garden tours and expert-led presentations. It is free to attend, and family-friendly for all ages.

Kristine Lang, assistant professor and SDSU Extension consumer horticulture specialist, and Robin Buterbaugh, SDSU Extension horticulture field specialist, will lead presentations on gardening from 1:30 to 3 p.m. It will be a hands-on workshop that teaches how to create visually appealing plant arrangements, with Lang focused on annuals and Buterbaugh on native plants.

From 3:30 to 5 p.m., there will be a McCrory Garden history tour, guided by Lisa Marotz, McCrory Gardens director of operations, and Sydney Trio, McCrory Gardens education coordinator and SDSU Extension horticulture assistant.

There will be plant sales throughout the afternoon, available from the SDSU Native Plant Initiative and the Brookings Area Master Gardeners. Plant sales will help fund scholarships for horticulture students at SDSU. For more information on the SDSU Extension Master Gardener Program, go here.

The festival is part of National Public Gardens Week from May 9-18, celebrated in public gardens around the country. Trio said will be a fun-filled way for all generations to learn and interact with gardening and the natural world.

“I am really looking forward to warmer weather and getting out into the gardens again. This event helps us prepare and celebrate all things garden-related, whether it is hands-on activities with the exhibitors, buying plants, or learning from the presentations and tour,” Trio said. “There is a mix of options for people of all ages to learn and explore here at McCrory Gardens for this event.”

For more information, contact Trio at 605-688-6707 or Sidonia.Trio@sdstate.edu; or visit extension.sdstate.edu/events and search “garden.”