Metro Blooms works with Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) to maintain and inspect stormwater management practices at more than 20 sites district wide. These practices include rain gardens, underground infiltration systems,… Read More →
In a raingarden, there will always be weeding, but you can make it easier on yourself if you have good timing and the right tools. That was one of the… Read More →
The Sustainable Need to Weed “How many of you, if we go out to weed right now, would know what you’re doing?” Anna Bierbauer, our Metro Blooms landscape designer, asks.… Read More →
You’ve got this great new permeable pavement in your driveway. Now what? As with everything we value, some level of maintenance is required in order to keep it looking good… Read More →
Landscape and photo by Russ Henry, Giving Tree Gardens We often get questions in the fall regarding raingarden maintenance. One of our Landscape Designers, Andy Novak, recently shared this thoughtful… Read More →
As you may have read in our recent blog post ‘Green Streets for Blue Waters’, our two year project in partnership with the City of Bloomington just wrapped up. The project… Read More →
Seasonal Raingarden Maintenance Practices Each season has a small list of tasks associated with good raingarden maintenance practices. By staying on top of maintenance each season, problems can be avoided… Read More →
It’s certainly been cold in Minnesota this last month, but it’s going to warm up this weekend and with that warm-up maybe you’ll start thinking about the up and coming… Read More →
Well folks it’s time. It seems to me like our spattering of 70 degree days are done for the year, which means you can trade in your lawn mower for… Read More →
I hope you’ve been enjoying your time in the garden this summer and if you just haven’t had the time to do much maintenance yet (gasp!) it’s about time you… Read More →
Now that the sun is finally beginning to shine a little longer and our days are getting a bit warmer (I said a bit, not a LOT warmer yet), we… Read More →
Metro Blooms started partnering with the City of Lakes Community Land Trust (CLCLT) and the City of Minneapolis in 2023 to provide workshops on sustainable gardening and yard care to CLCLT homeowners. The land trust, a nonprofit based in Northside Minneapolis, helps make home ownership more affordable and provides support to its homeowners to maintain…
Through Blooming Boulevards, we engage residents in communities impacted by environmental injustices to receive pollinator-friendly boulevard rain gardens, taking part in planting and maintenance events. We also partner with local youth/young adult groups on learning and paid work opportunities. We are building ongoing relationships through this program; every year, we learn more about better supporting…
About This garden is part of a larger restoration effort around Keller Lake and the nearby Keller Golf Course to bring native plants back to public spaces. Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, which has worked in these spaces for years, brought together students from American Indian Magnet, Water Stewards, Master Gardeners, and its own staff to…
Creating Native Plant Pollinator Havens Do you want to attract more pollinators in your yard? We’ll show you how, through Turf to Pollinator Gardens. In partnership with Wilderness in the City and others, we planted six native plant pollinator gardens in Twin Cities regional parks. The gardens replaced turf grass lawn, which offers little food…
Edwin, a member of our Design+Build landcare crew, likes discussing plants. Our crew maintains rain gardens, native plantings and other green infrastructure practices in the Twin Cities Metro. When residents stop by with questions about plants, Edwin points out different species, especially potential weeds that may spread quickly. “Just to be able to identify…
Through Blooming Boulevards, we engage residents in communities impacted by environmental injustices to receive pollinator-friendly boulevard rain gardens, taking part in planting and maintenance events. We also partner with local youth/young adult groups on learning and paid work opportunities. We are building ongoing relationships through this program; every year, we learn more about better supporting…
Residents of affordable housing communities, many of them long-term community members, may care deeply about where they live but not have the ability to influence decisions that impact their home. We partnered with the Brook Gardens community in Brooklyn Park to center resident priorities. Brook Gardens is a townhome/apartment complex that is home to many…
We are a mission-based organization dedicated to resilient landscapes, and volunteers provide a meaningful impact in the work we do. From time to time, we can use support to help us with planting, maintenance and landcare (such as pulling weeds), and with administrative tasks such as mailings, office support or tabling at events. Opportunities to…
Shannon modestly calls herself a “first-grader” when it comes to gardening. But she clearly knows a thing or two. Just ask about her yard, and she’ll tell you about her hostas and rhododendron; the hydrangea near her front porch that exploded in blooms last summer; her royal oak, Ralph; and the most recent addition: a…
A nonexistent raingarden is how Rich Harrison connected with Metro Blooms. He was the caretaker of the apartment building where he lived, and the yard there was a mess: a couple of trees had been taken down, stormwater was collecting, and nothing was growing. Harrison decided to put in a raingarden. He knew of Metro…
Through Blooming Boulevards, we engage residents in communities impacted by environmental injustices to receive pollinator-friendly boulevard rain gardens, taking part in planting and maintenance events. We also partner with local… Read More →
During the six years that Becca Cerra has had a studio at Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center (CAFAC), she never noticed the Goodridge Building, one of CAFAC’s neighbors at George Floyd Square. With a non-descript brick front, it looked like just another quiet office space among a string of local businesses that make up the…
This past summer, we teamed up with neighborhoods, cities, and the Conservation Corps of Minnesota & Iowa (CCM) to install raingardens in residents’ yards and teach them about sustainable landscaping practices along the way. These efforts were part of our Neighborhood of Raingardens program, which aims to make clean-water planting projects easier and more affordable…
How do you live in your outdoor space? Do kids play in the yard? Do you like to gather with friends? Are you a gardener? How will all of this change over time? Diana Grundeen of Trio Landscaping asks a lot of questions the first time she meets a potential client. She’s gathering the information…
Climate change, the long-term change in the Earth’s temperature, is bringing massive and detrimental consequences. What are these consequences and how do they affect us? Have you noticed the increasingly extreme weather? Like heat waves or flooding rains? The vast majority of scientists agree that human activity is the primary cause of climate change, so…
Metro Blooms recently learned we received a $5,000 scholarship from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities to help participants in our Sustainable Landcare Training program gain skills in the green roofs profession. Our training program prepares youths and young adults to be part of a growing green infrastructure workforce as we see more earth-friendly practices such…
Last summer was the first time we did a Neighborhood of Raingardens program in one community with a major focus on maintenance. The Sheridan Neighborhood Association in Minneapolis wanted to provide previous participants with guidance on caring for their raingardens. So we offered a “raingarden refresh” program. During a one-and-a-half-hour visit, we checked a participant’s…
July 19: L2L Garden Tour Day August 13 Coffee Chat: Sustainable Landcare in the Community A Letter to The Minnesota Star Tribune Sustainable Landcare Training UMN Extension: Creeping Bellflower Removal Tips Metro Blooms Design + Build Consultations Blue Thumb: Plan a Project for Pollinators and Clean Water Blue Thumb Resources Metro Blooms Design + Build:…
We started working with the Brook Gardens community in 2019. Community members were co-creators in this project to create more resilient and livable outdoor spaces. Residents set priorities for the… Read More →
