This essay by Janet Favorite originally appeared in the May / June 2020 egress ofNorthern Gardener .
I am a womb-to-tomb , ego - educated gardener and my internal catchword has always been “ create smasher wherever you go . ” That slogan prompted me to joinCherokee Heights Garden Clubseveral year ago . Gardening with friends has enrich my own gardening life story and my connecter to our community of interests .
Like many garden club in Minnesota , Cherokee Heights was founded in the 1930s—1934 to be exact — with the help of MSHS . It start out with 30 St. Paul neighbour who want to portion out their love of horticulture , educate themselves about gardening and use their talents to create beauty in the community . Today , the cabaret has members from Mendota Heights , South St. Paul and Inver Grove Heights as well as St. Paul , and some of our members are children , grandchild , and even slap-up - grandchild of the cabaret ’s founders .
Located at the top of the High Bridge in St. Paul, this planting is maintained by the Cherokee Heights Garden Club.
Current fellow member reminisce about their mother ’ line up up in high heels and white gloves for garden club meetings . We maintain a more casual dress code , although we do “ clean up nicely ” for our traditional Christmas lunch .
We may be best known for the public garden the club created in 1984 on the south side of the High Bridge that connect our neighborhoods with downtown St. Paul . The club pink local businesses and government for resourcefulness to build the garden more than 30 years ago . We continue to maintain this garden with its spectacular bird’s-eye view of downtown St. Paul . presently , member ’ due pay for the upkeep — and most of us expend fourth dimension work out in the garden , implant or put it to bed . As with many horticulture mathematical group , we have an aging membership . We sometimes have to hire help for the more forcible chore of our garden . The city of St. Paul allow us access to water system for our hoses , but some member remember tally water from across the street . A generous neighbour eventually allowed us to link up a hose !
During the past two summers , the High Bridge underwent Reconstruction Period and our summer sanctuary was assaulted with jackhammers and other construction racket . Renovations are last finish , with a new pavement instal , framing the bridge beautifully . Many of the construction workers bask possess a break on the Bench facing the garden and the urban center diorama . They observe that they had like the garden so much they had set up standardised planting at their own homes . The garden is also a democratic site for marriage ceremony ikon . What a splendiferous background the garden with a view of business district St. Paul makes for a new hook up with couple .
The view of downtown St. Paul makes this community garden special.
Our garden has surely changed over the year . Now we focus on native planting to pull in bird and butterflies . We still plant yearly for color but look for plants that demand less water and fertilizer . Often our perennials are too successful and postulate division , a happy fourth dimension for those who still postulate flora for their own gardens .
The members of our golf-club are all passionate plant lovers and many work with other organizations to improve our community and our environment . One extremity align metropolis unpaid worker who help maintain St. Paul ’s bluff . Being part of the West St. Paul Park and Recreation board enhance another member ’s life . As an employee of Gertens Greenhouse , another member has knowledge of new plant form , interesting talker and acts as Mrs. Claus during the holidays . Other member have volunteered clock time and energy to urban center garden projects .
My own garden has a intermixture of showy peonies , lilies , dahlias and plants for local pollinators . I love sharing unusual arrangements of my garden ’s enrapture that I get to experience every day . All of the nurseryman in our gild share in some way — either their cognition , time , plant or the joy of gardening .
Janet Favorite is a nurseryman and writer in St. Paul .
