Lauritzen Gardens facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lauritzen Gardens Omaha Botanical Center
Type	Privately funded
Location	South Omaha, Nebraska U.S.
Area	100 acres (40 ha)
Created	1982
Status	Open all year

Lauritzen Gardens is a wonderful place in Omaha, Nebraska, where you can explore many different kinds of plants and trees. It's like a giant outdoor museum for nature! You can find it at 100 Bancroft Street in the South Omaha area. The gardens are open every day, but there is a small fee to enter.

History of the Gardens

The idea for Lauritzen Gardens started way back in 1982. After a few years of planning, construction began in 1995. One of the first areas built was the beautiful rose garden. Other early gardens included a shady hosta garden, a herb garden (where useful plants grow), a special children's garden, and a lovely spring flowering walk.

Growing and Expanding

Since it first opened, Lauritzen Gardens has grown bigger and added new exciting areas almost every year!

• Festival Garden: This garden is full of colorful flowers and open grassy spaces. It's where many fun events happen throughout the year.
• Victorian Garden: This area mixes ideas from both English and Victorian style gardens, making it a charming place to visit.
• Song of the Lark Meadow: This part of the gardens reminds you of Nebraska's natural prairies, filled with pretty wildflowers.
• Arboretum and Bird Sanctuary: This large, 4-acre area is like a forest with seven different types of plant communities found in the region. It also shows you how to attract and identify birds that live in the Midwest.

In 2003, two new sections were added:

• Woodland Trail: This path winds through a natural forest, offering amazing views from the hilltops.
• Garden in the Glen: This peaceful spot has a stream, small pools, and gentle waterfalls.

More additions came in the following years:

• In 2004, a grand rose garden staircase and another woodland waterfall were built.
• In 2005, parts of a future Japanese garden were started, including a replica of the Sunpu Castle Gate and a small Mt. Fuji.
• The tree peony garden and an English perennial border (a long bed of flowers that come back every year) were planted in 2006.
• A very popular model railroad garden opened in July 2007, with an expansion added in June 2008. It's a miniature world with trains chugging through tiny landscapes!
• The Garden of Memories opened in the spring of 2009, offering a quiet place for reflection.

Visitor and Education Center

In October 2001, a large visitor and education center opened. It's about 32,000 square feet! Inside, you'll find:

• A huge floral display hall where amazing flower shows are held.
• An education wing with two classrooms for learning about plants.
• One of the only horticultural libraries in the region, filled with books about gardening.
• A great hall, a community room, a café for snacks, and a gift shop to find souvenirs.

The floral display hall hosts three big flower shows each year: a fall chrysanthemum festival, a holiday poinsettia show, and a spring bulb show. The center's glass roof is 65 feet tall, making it a very noticeable landmark as you drive into Nebraska from the Missouri River.

Marjorie K. Daugherty Conservatory

A huge new greenhouse, called the Marjorie K. Daugherty Conservatory, opened in 2014. This amazing building allows the gardens to grow plants that need warmer climates, even in the middle of winter!

Today, Lauritzen Gardens is a thriving place near downtown Omaha. In 2015, over 220,000 people visited the gardens! It also has more than 12,000 member families and 250 regular volunteers who help keep the gardens beautiful.