By Jodi Schwan

South Dakota will host a dedication Wednesday for the newest set of U.S. Postal Service stamps.

The ceremony, which will be streamed nationwide, will begin at 4 p.m. at the Mary Jo Wegner Arboretum, east of Sioux Falls on Highway 42.

The four new stamps feature floral bouquets painted by Tennessee artist Elizabeth Brandon, who will be here for the dedication. They are Forever stamps, meaning they always will equal current first-class mail 1-ounce pricing.

“The Postal Service has a long tradition of showcasing flowers and floral artwork on stamps.  Flowers have been a perennial favorite, with hundreds of floral stamps released over the years,” said Simon Storey, the Postal Service’s vice president of employee resource management. “Each of these stamps is a small masterpiece, or as we say in the Postal Service, miniature works of art.”

The stamps go on sale Wednesday.

“It’s very fitting that we will be dedicating the Garden Forever stamps at the Mary Jo Wegner Arboretum. Mary Jo and her husband, Karl, were friends of mine and they were great South Dakotans,” said Gov. Dennis Daugaard, who will be at the dedication. “I’m glad to be able to attend this ceremony at the serene location that the Wegner family established in Mary Jo’s honor.”

The Postal Service is expanding its stamp dedication ceremonies to broader portions of the country to enable more people to see the fun, educational events, spokesman Mark Saunders said.

“The Mary Jo Wegner Arboretum & East Sioux Falls Historic Site is one of the most beautiful in America,” he said. “We chose it for its stunning scenery and its work to nurture connections between people and nature. The arboretum also features gardens of peonies and hydrangeas, which are two of the flowers featured on the stamps.”

To learn more about the stamps and how to buy them, click here.