Orchids, Rain Gardens and the Garden Shed

These three gardens have a special treat waiting for you. Do you grow tropical plants? How does growing fresh fruit appeal to you? Have you ever wondered how you can create an edible landscape? Then come and join your friends and neighbors on the 5th Annual Master Gardeners Learning Garden Tour, July 14th, rain or shine.

Garden I theme: Every Plant Tells a Story.

This master gardener allows her orchids to vacation outside in the summer, hanging them in the trees to take advantage of the dappled sunlight. A dwarf river birch is a centerpiece of her unique rain garden. Friends and memories are behind many of the cherished perennial plants, shrubs, and trees that thrive here. Besides the cherry tree that honors the gardener’s mother, blueberries, huckleberries, raspberries, quince, strawberries, and grapes make for a scrumptious harvest all season long.

Educational demonstration: Growing Orchids 

Garden J theme: Secret Garden

The purchase of the adjacent lot enabled the homeowner to create a secret side garden enclosed by a stately arborvitae hedge. Within the entire space, three seating areas are loosely defined by circular-shaped paving. Starting with tulips in the spring, colorful flowers are exchanged each season to decorate this series of outdoor living rooms. Native plants like milkweed and Joe Pye Weed attract hundreds of butterflies and bees. Can you spy the eagle’s nest in the large tree across the street? Want to learn how to create a rain garden in your yard? This is the location of The Garden Shed, where you can peruse and purchase state-of-the-art gardening books, garden art, and those fantastic hypertufa Warty Planter Things.

Educational demonstration: Rain Gardens, Selecting and Planting Spring Bulbs

Garden K theme: City Lake Style. Do you have a shady yard? What can you plant in shade? Come visit this garden with its unusual plants and hard-to-find varieties, from the colorful terrace beds to the creative containers spotted along the brick path. Expect to see creative and surprising uses of herbs and vegetables for ornamentation as well as for eating. An edible landscape! A serene haven awaits the visitor in the backyard where pleasing foliage, blooms, and seed heads prove that shade is not an obstacle to beauty.

Educational demonstration: Shade Containers 

This is an educational tour. It is unique in the county (and the state). This tour includes 11 gardens designed and maintained by master gardeners who have been certified through the University of Minnesota Extension service. The gardens are located in Southwest Minneapolis, Edina, St. Louis Park, and Golden Valley. This tour will provide you with inspiration and information on a wide range of gardening styles and techniques. The tour includes landscaping with native plants and no-mow lawns, how to create outdoor rooms, vegetable growing strategies, lakeshore restoration, and much more. 

Tour date: Saturday, July 14, from 9-4 a.m.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 the day of the event. Visit our website to learn more and to order your tickets by credit card:  www.hennepinmastergardeners.org or call 612.596.2130.