August 15 - Two Garden Tours

We toured the private gardens of Tammy Diedrich in Woodbury and Michelle Riedel in Oakdale. 

Tammy's gardens very sunny and were jammed packed with a wide variety of perennials, annuals and several pots of tropicals.  The water feature included some very big koi and was surrounded by interesting plants and glass art.

Michelle's gardens were partial shade and included lots of texture and color.  Her use of plants in the many pots on her property were inspirational as well as interesting.  One of our team members spotted a Rusty Patch Bumble Bee which are endangered.  Photo is shown below.

A hot day but the tours were enjoyed by everyone!

August 8 - A Trip To The Arboretum

We visited the University of Minnesota Arboretum and utilized the tram tour to learn more about the facility.  Here are some examples of what was in bloom!

July 11 Riana's Sculpture Garden, River Falls, WI

Wouterina has been a working artist in various media since 1969. In 1995, she gave up the security of a full-time job to pursue current projects and workshops. She is working on life-size concrete mosaic statues in the tradition of American outdoor folk art.

Her inspiration for these statues comes both from growing up on her parents' coffee and rubber plantation in the midst of the Indonesian jungle and also from her daily experiences living on an old farmstead in America's dairy state.  Her love for the country and gardening and my passion for creating environments has guided her to create outdoor rooms with concrete figures that light up walkways to fountains, animals and human-shaped birdhouses or benches.

June 13 Milkweed, Monarchs and Miracles!

Presenter: Marge Sagstetter, Washington County Master Gardener

We received handouts and were presented information about the incredible story of Monarch butterflies.  There are many ways we can help; planting milkweed, including nectar plants in our gardens and even raising them ourselves.   Taken in to our homes, the Monarch's survival rate from egg to butterfly increases to almost 100%.  In the wild, their survival rate is less than 10%.

Here is a link to a short National Geographic YouTube video that shows the life cycle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVm5k99PnBk

A Successful Plant Sale! May 19, 2018

A slightly cool, cloudy day but it was perfect for our plant sale fund raising event.   There were so many beautiful plants.  And this year there was yard art featured!   Many of our members participated in the setup, the sale and the cleanup efforts.

This is a fun way to work together, meet the people in our community and fund the projects we believe are important.

Rock Garden Clean Up Day - May 4, 2018

On Friday, May 4, several members met at the rock garden to do spring cleanup.   With so many in attendance the work went quickly and resulted in around 15 leaf bags full of leaves and debris along with a large stack of branches.

Our weekly maintenance schedule is posted and reminders will be going out to members as their week approaches.   Together we show our expertise and our commitment to the beauty of our community.

Our Plant Sale is Saturday, May 19, 2018!