"When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest." –Ernest Hemingway
Spring Tour Dates
Note: These dates and times have changed.
May 15 (Sunday) Darren Lochner 4:30-5:30 AND 5:30-6:30
May 19 (Thursday) Lisa Pearson 6:30-7:30 AND 7:30-8:30
May 22 (Sunday) Karen Randall 4:30-5:30 AND 5:30-6:30
Garden Descriptions
Darren Lochner
A signature plant specimen in my yard is a two-story magnolia tree. This is the only plant that remains from 2008, when I bought my house and faced a yard of dead sod and weeds! Early
on, I spent a lot of time creating a landscape plan, and I phased in plantings over time. One goal of my landscape design was to have visual interest throughout the seasons. From my magnolia, redbud and tulips in spring to perennials in summer, to hydrangea and sweet autumn clematis
in the fall and finally the grasses and evergreens that provide winter interest. My garden’s seasonal variation of blooms has been very rewarding to see it develop over the years.
The spring 2022 Garden Gate Tour will feature many spring blooms including hundreds of tulips, daffodils as well as spring blooming perennials such as Bluebells and Sweet William. Many of these flowering plants form a carpet of blooms in the spring. Trees and shrubs are also featured in the spring landscape including such species as Redbud, Serviceberry, Cherry Tree, Crabapple, Redbud and Magnolia.
Lisa Pearson
I started the gardens 20 years ago, increasing the size slowly over the years. The front retaining wall and back patio were installed along with many native shade- and sun-loving plants. More recently, the gardens have been changing as neighborhood trees are being lost, creating sunnier areas. Pieces of these trees have been incorporated into the gardens. The gardens also contain found objects and garden art. My pride and joy is the mandarin orange Azealia, which hopefully will be blooming during the tour.
Karen Randall
I bought my old house in 1994 and every year since have found new reasons to pull out lawn.The garden rambles over three city lots with both sun and shade, including vegetables in raised beds, fruit trees and bushes, and lots of flowers. Spring highlights include woodland natives and lots of bulbs. On the west side, my neighbor and I host a community garden where ten families cooperatively plant and harvest 30 beds. There are two bee hives managed by the U of MN Bee Lab, part of a research project on mites. Last summer, I started messing with the boulevard, adding a "U-pick" sharing garden and seeding a patch of bee lawn. Plan on putting on shoe booties, as last summer I also found jumping worms in the compost pile and east vegetable garden paths. The next adventure will be monitoring their impact over time.