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March 26, 2012 · Leave a Comment

Inspiring Community Gardeners

Why We Garden

award winning community gardeners at ceremony

Three giving gardeners, from left, Maureen Adelman, MSHS Life Award winner, Chuck Levine, Bruce Bereford Educator’s Award winner, and Malcolm Burleigh, Bob Churilla Golden Rose Volunteer award winner.

What an inspiring Saturday I had, hearing story after story about the work of several community gardeners who were the winners of the Minnesota State Horticulture Society’s Awards. These are folks who understand the power of gardening in community—the power to build connections, to increase understanding, to teach youngsters and to create beauty and food to be shared with others.

The awards, which were presented at a luncheon at Bachman’s in Minneapolis, honor community gardeners, who teach, volunteer and lead, as well as groups, such as the Garden to Table program of the Eagan Resource Center, which uses its food gardens to reduce hunger and build connections; the Gay Straight Alliance of Blaine High School, which created a beautiful school garden–and a more inclusive school environment; and the Soil and Sunshine Club, which has been beautifying its far-flung communities for decades. Businesses, such as Wagners Greenhouse, which provides hundreds of plants for the MSHS Garden in a Box program, were also honored.

Several of the recipients spoke about how meaningful they found community gardening to be. As one said, “Gardening is just as much about growing community as it is growing food.”

Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to all the community gardeners in our area!

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In normal times, we’d be in our first week in Fl In normal times, we’d be in our first week in Florida right now, which would mean a visit to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens on our first full day there. Always great art and gardens to see. Then some beach time and plans for our first preseason game. (Twins, Pirates, Orioles, it’s all great.) We were very lucky to get the trip in last year and hope to be in Sarasota again this time next year. Meanwhile I’m indulging in some Insta-nostalgia and feeling grateful for longer days and sunshine here in Minnesota. Which vacations are you remembering fondly these days? 
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#gardentravel #florida #sarasota #publicgardens #marieselbybotanicalgardens #tbt #mngardener #longwinter
New issue of Northern Gardener and a cup of tea— New issue of Northern Gardener and a cup of tea—great way to pass a gloomy late afternoon. This issue is full of ideas for spring from @jenniferrensenbrink @monarchgardensbenjaminvogt @gbrownhudson @seedtofork and more. Stunning cover image from @riedelphoto.  Available March 1 on newsstands or subscribe through @mnhort! 
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#northerngardener #mngardening #coldclimategardening #calibrachoa #gardenforfrogs #perennialgarden #gardentips #nativeplants #nativeplantgardening #growyourownfood #iceberglettuce #growasalad
Winter ❄️ sowing? Have you tried it? Today’s Winter ❄️ sowing? Have you tried it? Today’s guest on the Grow it, Minnesota podcast is Michelle Mero Riedel, who introduced me and readers of Northern Gardener to the concept more than a decade ago. It’s been one of  our most popular articles ever. 

In winter sowing, you create mini-greenhouses out of milk jugs and other recyclables. Perennial flowers 💐 can be planted in February and March, while annuals, vegetables and herbs can be set out in April. Mother Nature does most of the work. It’s a budget friendly way to grow lots of plants! 

For more info, check out the podcast or a new blog post over on mynortherngarden.com. Links to all in bio. 
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What is this? Like day 10 or 12 with temps below z What is this? Like day 10 or 12 with temps below zero? Time to ramble back to June when the penstemon was covered in bees and the veronica looked so pretty. June is my second favorite month in the garden (believe it or not, September is number one for me). What’s your favorite month? P.S. only 14 weeks until June! 
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#garden #mygarden #mynortherngarden #gardeninspo
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#Zone4garden #zone4b
Oh boy, check out the bucket hat and shades. I was Oh boy, check out the bucket hat and shades. I was digging through some old family photos and came across this one of me circa 1990s, I’d guess, weeding at our first house. I had a lot to learn (like A LOT) about gardening, and little did I know then that I’d be writing about gardening for a living someday. Lots of good thing happen in the garden. 
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#tbt #mygardenstory #mynortherngarden #gardenwriter #weeding #oldphoto #buckethatsareback
Somebody brought me a bouquet! Thank you, @resawit Somebody brought me a bouquet! Thank you, @resawithoutherspoon 
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#flowers #bouquet #flowersmakemehappy #plantsmakepeoplehappy
The latest episode of Grow it, Minnesota is all ab The latest episode of Grow it, Minnesota is all about plants with medicinal uses.  I interview author and herbalist Matthew Alfs about his new book on Edible and Medicinal Wild Plants of the Midwest. We talked about a few of my favorite plants such as wild geraniums and anise hyssop and also about what we call weeds that have other uses. 

It was a fascinating discussion with a real expert. Matthew recommends consulting multiple sources before using any plant medicinally and his book would be a good one to start with. 

Listen to the podcast at growitminnesota.com or wherever you get your podcasts. 
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#gardenpodcast #anisehyssop #geranium #geraniummaculatum #dandelion #herbalist #plantsareamazing #minnesota #mnhspress #mnplants #mnpodcast
I love ❤️ that my local grocery store has plan I love ❤️ that my local grocery store has plants in the temptation spot near the 10-items or less lane. They’re better for you than chips and just as enticing. I resisted this time but plant impulse buys happen to all of us! 
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#houseplants #babyplants #succulents #impulsebuy #mystpaul #stpaul #mngardener #minnesota #wintergardening #indoorgardening #toocute
Leaving plants up in winter gives you something to Leaving plants up in winter gives you something to look at, but helps pollinators and birds more. As the sun gets stronger in late January, these are a few of my favorites for winter interest. 
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#winterinterest #mnwinter #boltonia #anisehyssop #littlebluestem #birdfriendly #pollinatorgarden
#garden #mygarden #mynortherngarden #gardeninspo
#mngardening #minnesota #mnhort
#gardeninglife #coldclimategardening
#stpaulgarden #stpaulmn
#Zone4garden #zone4b
What’s a northern gardener to do all winter? In What’s a northern gardener to do all winter? In these pandemic times, I’ve been having fun making quilts. Small, easy, no stress quilts. And, these garden themed fabrics on discount through Etsy were irresistible. 

I’m a beginner quilter and learned the craft through YouTube! (My favorite tutorials are the scrap buster quilts from @justgetitdonequilts) This fabric bundle included 21 different half yard prints, so I’ll probably have fabric left over for next winter too. 

How are you keeping sane/busy this winter? 
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#gardenlife #gardenfabric #modafabric #offseason #beginnerquilter #winter #minnesotawinter #minnesota
Sometimes amaryllis are just so extra—like extra Sometimes amaryllis are just so extra—like extra large! What I really like about this one (it’s called Magic Green) is that the blooms are just right. Showy but not excessive. So far, the color is more cream than green though there is a pale green undertone. Beautiful variety! 

And, for those who may notice those tell-tale yellow strips in the pots—yes, I am having an ongoing fungus gnat issue. Not out of control, but definitely irritating. 

How’s your indoor garden 🪴 growing? 
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#amaryllis #amaryllisflower #magicgreenamaryllis #indoorplants #bulbs #wintergarden #indoorgarden #houseplants #topview #mngarden #mngardening #bloomingbulbs
We’re still a few weeks away from seed starting We’re still a few weeks away from seed starting time, but I’m looking forward to having baby plants in the house. 🌱My conversation with Meg from @seedtofork on the Grow it, Minnesota podcast got me thinking about how I might change my set up this year. I’ve never used heat mats for seed starting since I keep my seedlings in the heated part of the house. But maybe this is the year to try that for peppers and tomatoes? Meg swears by heating mats! 

She also got me thinking about LED lights vs. fluorescent. I’m not inclined to replace lights that are still good, but light technology is changing. A lot to learn! 

Link to the podcast in the bio. Also links to seed starting charts and tips in the show notes at growitminnesota.com. 
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#seedstarting #growyourownfood #startfromseed #gardentipsandtricks #seeds #veggies #vegetablegarden #coldclimategardening #gardenpodcast #mnpodcast #mngardening #minnesota
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