The Only Nebraska Garden in National Geographic’s Elite List Started as a Garbage Dump

Sunken Gardens, Nebraska

The story of Lincoln’s Sunken Gardens is pure Nebraska: take something broken (in this case, a neighborhood dump), add hard work and community spirit, and create something remarkable.

What you get is an award-winning floral masterpiece with layer after layer of themed flower gardens that bloom in waves all season long.

Today, over 30,000 plants keep the tradition going. Here’s more of the story.

This garden was built on literal trash

Back in 1931 during the Great Depression, workers built Sunken Gardens on an old neighborhood dump.

They hauled in 800 loads of soil to cover up the trash. People who lived nearby donated plants from their own gardens to get started.

You can still walk on some of the original stone paths near the north entrance that those Depression-era workers laid by hand.

National Geographic loves this garden

Sunken Gardens made it onto National Geographic’s list of “300 Best Gardens to Visit in the United States and Canada.” It’s the only Nebraska garden to do so.

This puts the Sunken Gardens in the league of Pennsylvania’s majestic Longwood Gardens, Florida’s Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, and Maine’s Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.

You’ll see a different garden each year

The staff starts planning next year’s design as soon as they finish planting the current one.

They use computer models to figure out exactly how many plants they’ll need and where to put them. You’ll see around 30,000 individual plants from over 100 different types each season.

Recent themes you might have seen include “Reflections of Monet” (2018), “Celestial Garden” (2022), and “Enchanted Forest” (2024).

People gave millions to fix up this garden

The garden got a major makeover in 2004-2005 that cost $1.7 million, all from private donations. More than 3,000 people contributed money, and no tax dollars were used.

The new irrigation system they installed cuts water use by 40%. Workers had to temporarily move 12,000 plants to keep rare ones safe during construction.

You can enjoy the results of this award-winning renovation that got recognized by the National Parks and Recreation Association in 2005.

Three different garden styles in one place

In the Annual Garden, you’ll find elaborate flower displays. The Perennial Garden has 350 different types of plants that come back year after year, arranged by color.

When you walk through the White Garden, you’ll see only white flowers and silver-leaved plants, based on a famous English garden at Sissinghurst Castle.

These three areas show off garden styles from across 400 years of history.

A spring has flowed here since 1931

It pumps out 175 gallons of fresh water every hour into the garden’s water features.

This spring has never stopped flowing and stays at 52°F all year round. You can feel the different climate it creates in parts of the garden.

The spring water flows through three pools connected by waterfalls and gets filtered naturally through limestone underground.

Tests done in 2023 showed the spring water has minerals that help the water plants grow better.

It survived a major flood

In 2015, floods put the lower parts of Sunken Gardens under 5 feet of water. The flooding wiped out 85% of the plants and damaged most of the watering system.

Just 26 days later, 273 community volunteers had replanted the entire garden. You can see how they raised several key flower beds by 18 inches during rebuilding.

The changes they made to the garden’s design now protect it from major floods, so you can enjoy it even after heavy rains.

The dirt here is special

The garden uses a special soil mix made just for Lincoln’s weather and growing conditions. This mix is 40% compost from Lincoln’s yard waste program.

Workers add 27 tons of this special soil throughout the gardens every spring. The University of Nebraska’s agricultural department adds helpful fungi to the soil.

When they tested the soil in 2024, they found over 1.5 billion good microorganisms in each cubic inch – way more than in regular garden soil.

People love to get married here

About 86 weddings happen at Sunken Gardens each year, making it the most popular outdoor wedding spot in Lincoln.

If you want a summer weekend wedding date, you’ll need to book up to 18 months ahead. The “Healing Garden” section has wider paths made specifically to fit wedding parties.

A full-time wedding coordinator helps manage all these ceremonies. Since they started keeping records in 1990, over 1,700 couples have gotten married in these gardens.

You can see rare historic plants

The gardens have several nationally recognized plant collections, including 47 rare old-fashioned rose varieties.

The “Heritage Rose Collection” has roses from the 1800s grown from cuttings provided by the Smithsonian Institution. You can find 14 plant types listed as endangered by the American Horticultural Society.

The lily pond has 23 different kinds of water lilies, including the unusual “Blue Cloud” variety that was developed right here in Lincoln.

The gardens help save threatened plant species by preserving their genetic material through the North American Plant Conservation Consortium.

This is Lincoln, Nebraska’s most photographed place

More people take pictures at Sunken Gardens than anywhere else in Lincoln, with over 25,000 social media posts showing it every year.

About 400 professional photo sessions happen here annually, bringing in $28,000 in permit fees that help maintain the garden.

You’ve probably seen the gardens in one of the 17 national photography magazines that have featured it since 2020.

A study by the Nebraska Tourism Board in 2023 found that Sunken Gardens photos get 42% more engagement than any other Nebraska location.

You can use the four marked “photo spots” added in 2022 to find the best views.

Bronze sculptures greet you every time

In Lincoln’s Sunken Gardens, it’s not just the flowers that will catch your eye. There’s Reveille—an angel with a trumpet, mid-call, modeled after the artist’s wife.

Rebekah at the Well, where the bronze figure of a woman gracefully tilts her water jug, adding a touch of classical elegance.

But perhaps the most endearing is the young girl, lost in her book, part of Bruno Lucchesi’s Kneeling Figure, donated by by Dr. Fred Southwick and his wife.

Visiting Sunken Gardens in 2025

You’ll find the Sunken Gardens at 2600 D Street in Lincoln, Nebraska. Open daily from 6 am to 11 pm and it’s always free.

Good to know:

• Free tours on Tuesdays and Saturdays at 10 am ($5 donation suggested) 
• Photo sessions cost $70 for 2 hours with a permit 
• 32 parking spots plus street parking nearby