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MPR News
Highlighting the Bryant Neighborhood of raingardens. Incentives and particulars of community-level raingarden projects
WCCO 4 News
Metro Blooms’ Lead Landscape Designer delivers raingarden wisdom during a WCCO interview at Sentyrz Supermarket in NE Mpls (aired on 4/18/2012)
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Grant Resources
Over the years Metro Blooms has benefited from numerous public and private grants. Our knowledge is not comprehensive, but we’re happy to share what we know with others doing community work. In particular we’ve had success with local government grants for clean water and pollinator habitat projects that include community engagement and management.
Help Tuck Pollinators into Bed for the Winter
“Leaving the leaves” is how we can help pollinators get ready for cold weather. Last autumn, Jessica Miller took some of her neighbors’ raked-up leaves and spread them out in her yard. She put layers in her garden beds and small piles around her trees and shrubs. In a society that prizes the pristine lawn…
Awards Recognizing Metro Blooms
2022 Environmental Initiative Award, Local Sustainability Impacts, for Brook Gardens: Clean Water + Livability, a multi-partner project engaging a rental community on co-creation of more resilient landscapes 2022 Environmental Excellence Award, Minnesota Erosion Control Association 2021 Summer Blossom Award, Grand Neighborhood Garden, City of Brooklyn Park, for our work engaging rental communities on co-creation of…
Instagram Links
Protect the Future of Lawns to Legumes! Watch the Coffee Chat Recording Join a Blue Thumb Workshop this Spring MPCA Article: Environment-Friendly Snow and Ice Management Now Hiring: Seasonal Crew Members Metro Blooms Design+Build: Commercial Landcare Services Minneapolis City Tree Lottery: Enter by March 14 Turf to Pollinator Gardens Metro Blooms 2024 Impact Report New…
Aleli Balagtas
Equitable Engagement
At Metro Blooms we strive to make engagement equitable through real relationships, supporting opportunities for silenced voices to be heard, and implementing what we’ve heard from those most impacted by environmental and social injustices. We prioritize partnering with Black, Indigenous, People of Color, renters, and low-income communities. Intentionality: We collaborate with local community members and…
A Decade of Neighborhood of Raingardens
One of our longest-running programs, Neighborhood of Raingardens, turns 10 this year. Over the past decade, we’ve been installing raingardens in people’s yards, neighborhood by neighborhood, while teaching residents about landscaping practices that can help reduce stormwater runoff, a major cause of water pollution. Our goal is to help people make their property and community…
Your Soil Health Really Matters
Please call it soil, not dirt. The rock, clay, minerals and silt that make up dirt are largely devoid of the organic matter and living organisms in the complex ecosystem… Read More →
Ragweed and Goldenrod: Weeds to Watch This Week
(Above, a Canada goldenrod invasion) We’ve been doing raingarden maintenance lately. This includes pulling a lot of ragweed and Canada goldenrod. Read on for more about these invasives. Ragweed, Ambrosia Recently… Read More →
Reed Canary Grass: Weeds to Watch This Week
Reed Canary Grass, Phalaris arundinacea This is a plant you want to know to attack quickly if it shows up in your raingarden. I’ve seen it invade dry boulevards where the… Read More →
Collecting Native Seeds for Garden Expansion
Many of Minnesota’s native plants are seed factories. Most of our favorite species, while being fairly non-aggressive spreaders in the garden, produce large quantities of viable seed that can delight… Read More →
Floating Islands Become Popular to Clean Polluted Minn. Lakes, Ponds
Interest in floating islands is growing as people look to clean polluted lakes and ponds. Heidi Heiland owns a floating island model on Gleason Lake in Wayzata. She helps install… Read More →
2014 Triumphs And Lessons Learned
Wow. I know I said last year was busy, but 2014 was so busy we hardly had time to blog about, well, anything. Over the last 12 months we’ve worked… Read More →
Metro Blooms On WCCO
Metro Blooms with Sentyrz Supermarket on WCCO 4 News, 4/18/2012 N. MPLS–Lead Landscape Designer Michael Keenan recently spoke for Metro Blooms on WCCO News. Michael highlighted the Sentyrz Supermarket raingarden… Read More →
And The Survey Says…
Here in the office we’ve been analyzing Raingarden Workshop surveys from years gone past, pulling out trends and interesting snippets that can point us to a better awareness of our… Read More →
Blooms Goes Blog!
Welcome to the new Metro Blooms blog! Here is where you’ll be able to dig into all the rain garden extras such as: News, events, affiliates, plant bios and folklore,… Read More →