Lake Nokomis Alley Get-Together
On April 12th, 2014 more then 35 neighbors from two blocks in the Lake Nokomis watershed got together to reimagine their alleyway. Why? How? Where? Was there food? you may be… Read More →
News & Events
2013 Triumphs And Lessons Learned
As 2013 winds to an end, we find ourselves spending a lot of time planning for NEXT year. At Metro Blooms we’re writing work plans for 2014, anxiously awaiting the… Read More →
Metro Blooms Garden Evaluation And Awards
On November 7th, 2013 over 150 people gathered at the Columbia Manor in Northeast Minneapolis to recognize beautiful Minneapolis gardens, and the people that create them, at our annual Minneapolis… Read More →
Neighborhood Of Raingarden Installations 2013
Throughout the summer and fall of 2013, Metro Blooms has been working hard with the Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa to install raingardens in five different neighborhoods in Minneapolis.… Read More →
East Calhoun Neighborhood Of Raingardens
Last weekend, 14 families in the East Calhoun neighborhood of Minneapolis spent some time getting dirty and helping out the environment. What were they doing? Planting their raingardens of course!… Read More →
Blooming Schoolyards 2013
Many Metro Blooms supporters have not heard of Blooming Schoolyards, Metro Blooms’ K-12 outdoor classroom education program. And what a shame that is because I can tell you from experience… Read More →
The History Of Lake Nokomis
This past Tuesday, myself, Mark Pedelty (a professor at the U of MN), and three of his students had the pleasure of learning about the history of Lake Nokomis from… Read More →
Raingardens And Beyond Workshops, Soon To Be At A Community Center Near You!
Schnazy new title, and some new information too. This year Metro Blooms’ classic Raingarden Workshops are doing just what the new title says…they’re going beyond the do-it-yourself approach to raingarden design… Read More →
Lake Nokomis Water Quality Survey
Metro Blooms has recently taken on its largest survey yet. Throughout February we’ve been prepping, administering and entering oodles of data from our first ever KAP study (KAP stands for… Read More →
It’s In The Dirt! Bacteria In Soil May Make Us Happier, Smarter
This post was written by Naomi Sachs, a landscape designer and Founding Director of the Therapeutic Landscapes Network. Many people talk about the restorative benefits of gardening and the reasons… Read More →
Biography Of The Month
To kick off a new year of staff, board and volunteer biographies (that’s right volunteers, I’m coming for you next) I interviewed Bryan Pynn, Metro Blooms’ director of design and… Read More →
End Of The Year Update
As the end of 2012 approaches Metro Blooms is looking back on some of the big moments we had this year. As always we started the year out with a… Read More →
Rock For Raingardens Re-Cap
Last Wednesday Metro Blooms’ Rock for Raingardens event took place at the Fine Line Cafe in downtown Minneapolis. Metro Blooms board members and staff, friends of the bands, landscape design… Read More →
Rock For Raingardens
It’s that time of year again, you know, the time to dance, be entertained by good music and funny landscape architects and celebrate raingardens! In other words, it’s time for… Read More →
Biography Of The Month
Metro Blooms’ biography for the month of November (I know it’s really December, but only by three days!) is highlighting our executive director, Becky Rice. Becky may be the only… Read More →
Garden Awards 2012
Metro Blooms hosted their annual Garden Awards last Thursday evening at Columbia Manor to recognize those who beautify our city and protect our environment with their gardens. The awards were… Read More →
Hurricane Sandy Affects Water Quality
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy flood water has been contaminated with everything from raw sewage to floating debris to small ocean dwelling organisms. You have to wonder, “where will… Read More →
Biography Of The Month
Metro Blooms has been thinking, “wouldn’t it be nice if the people we work with and outreach to knew us on a more personal level so we could really connect?”… Read More →
Create A Compost Pile With Your Fall Leaves
Now that our warm summer has ended and our trees have all turned yellow, orange and red, we know what inevitably comes next. I’m sure by now you’ve wondered a… Read More →
A Visit To The Garden State
Sometimes it’s nice to see the flowers of another region. Nick, our MN GreenCorps member recently took a trip to New Jersey. Lucky enough, it was right when fields upon… Read More →
A Summer Of Garden Awards!
Mpls– It’s time for the Garden Awards! Nominations are being collected until August 6th: Anyone can nominate a garden on our nominations page. Everyone knows a garden or two they pass on… Read More →
Blooming Schoolyards
S. MPLS– This Spring, Metro Blooms has been submersed in the world of Environmental Education. To develop the Blooming Schoolyards program, we teamed up with Minneapolis Public Schools and STEM… 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 →
Earth Day 2012: Teaming Up With Project For Pride And Living
N. MPLS– This Earth Day, Metro Blooms is teaming up with Project for Pride in Living (PPL) to build a raingarden. Not just any raingarden mind you, but a 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 →
Spotlight Projects: Spring 2012
All of us here at Metro Blooms are excited for our 2012 projects… we have dozens! 😀There are two however that we’d like to describe more in depth: Urban Homeworks… Read More →
Metro Blooms Staff Featured At U Of M College Of Design And Humphrey School
MPLS WEST BANK– Colleen O’Dell is both a Research Assistant in Practice for Metro Blooms, as well as a Masters Student at both the U of M College of Design… Read More →
The High Line: A Harmony Of Plants, Materials, And Space
NEW YORK– This Thanksgiving, I chose to visit the High Line, a world famous park built on top of an abandoned elevated train line above Manhattan’s West Side. The park… Read More →
Give To The Max Day 11/16/11
Yesterday was the long awaited Give to the Max Day, and oh what a memorable day it was! The entire 24-hour donation window raised about $13.5 million for hundreds of Minnesota… Read More →
Powderhorn Leaf Raking 2011
When it comes to late fall in Minnesota we’re all lucky to get a perfect warm sunny day that lands on the weekend! Last Saturday (11/12), Metro Blooms and local… Read More →