Minneapolis Garden Bloggers Fling - Day 1

Dylan mural in downtown Minneapolis

Earlier this month, I attended my third Garden Bloggers Fling in Minneapolis, MN. I and sixty-some-odd garden bloggers from all over the U.S. and Canada hopped charter buses and toured the city's best gardens, public and private, for three full days. The Garden Bloggers Fling is a fabulous way to see the lush green spirit of a city up close and in depth, and I was glad to be able to attend.

Marquette Plaza

from the porch at the Hayes house

Each garden we visited deserves its own post, but I've learned from experience that attempting that task is sheer folly for someone who works full-time and needs to tend to her own home, garden and volunteer work! I've yet to post on some of my favorite gardens from Portland's Fling, which I hope to revisit at some point in the near future. But without further delay, here's some highlights from day 1 in Minneapolis.

Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden & Bird Sanctuary (public)
Eloise Butler meadow

Bench at Eloise Butler Wildflower Center

pretty berries


Studio garden of Donna Hamilton (private)
exterior

color riot

studio garden


Lyndale Park Gardens (public)
yellow annual-perennial bed at Lyndale Park Gardens

pink and peach flowers at Lyndale Park Gardens

day lilies at Lyndale Park Gardens


Garden of blogger and author Rhonda Fleming Hayes (private)
Hayes house

Hayes kitchen garden

back porch and pond at Hayes house

Hayes garden and patio


Bachman's Garden Center (retail)
Bachman's display

Bachman's greenhouse

potting bench plants at Bachman's

Latham "Park" (private)
Latham House perennial border

Latham "Park"

Gazebo at Latham House

Pond at Latham House

Noerenberg Memorial Gardens (public)
Noerenberg Memorial Gardens

Colonnade where the Noerenberg home once stood

Noerenberg Memorial Gardens

Kelley and Kelley Nursery (retail)
Hosta border at the Kelley-Kelley nursery

Fragrant pink lilies at Kelley-Kelley nursery

royal cat in the woods at Kelley-Kelley nursery

Garden of Steve Kelley and Arla Carmichiel (private)

Kelley-Charmichiel house

Hydrangea

Kelley-Carmichiel garden

There wouldn't have been a wonderful Minneapolis Fling without the tireless efforts of Amy Andrychowicz at Get Busy Gardening, Kathleen Hennessey at :29 Minute Gardener, and Mary Lahr Schier at My Northern Garden. Thank you all so much! If you want to see more photos of these gardens, check out the Minneapolis Garden Bloggers Fling photo collection on my Flickr page.

Words and photos © 2009-2016 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Comments

  1. Beautiful pics! Somehow I missed the grape arbor and the columns at that garden. I must have been distracted by all the flowers!

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    1. It was a lot to see! And the flowers were gorgeous. I completely missed the pump house.

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  2. Those are some great pictures, Caroline! I especially love the first one at the wildflower garden. You somehow managed to take photos where all of us bloggers actually added to the scene instead of detracted from it.

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    1. Thanks, Margaret! I think people in photos make photos more interesting, providing context, interest, and a sense of scale. Plus I love all y'all. :)

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  3. You got lots of views I missed, and I enjoyed the recap. Like you, I can't cover every single garden we visited. If only there were more time!

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    1. You got lots of views I missed! I love reading everyone's posts and seeing the same gardens through someone else's eyes. So many gardens, so little time...!

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  4. It was such fun and I love seeing your photos... The crowned cat mosaic is really cool!

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    1. Isn't it cute! It snuck up on me - ! turned around and there it was!

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  5. Great shots, Caroline. I can really see the value of a nice wide-angle lens on a garden tour. And I actually found myself in one of your shots. From other people's pictures, I beginning to doubt I was actually there (or, more likely, I was just very good at hiding from the camera). Cheers!

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    1. I can go a little crazy with the wide-angle sometimes. It's easy to push it to the point of distortion. But for those big vast gardens like Eloise Butler and Noerenberg, it really helps. The berry photo is definitely pushing the capabilities of that lens. I brought a macro lens, but it never made it out of the camera bag.

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  6. Thank you for the overview of what I missed, it's nice to feel a little of the Fling magic through your (and other's) posts.

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    1. Missed you in Minneapolis - hope to see you in D.C.

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  7. I love the shot of the Flingers walking across the meadow. All your photos are amazing! It was so nice to meet you, Caroline. Hope we'll meet again at a future Fling!

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    1. Lovely to meet you too, Beth; hope to meet again in D.C.!

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  8. Lovely Pics! You did a great job capturing the gardens. Did you have a favorite garden in Day 1?

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    1. I really didn't, they were all so different; it's like choosing your favorite child, isn't it?

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  9. Beautiful photography, I wish I had time to take more photos myself. Thank goodness I get to see all the gardens through your posts! :-) Haha!

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  10. I have had to set aside some time to catch up with the garden bloggers' fling visits so I appreciate a taste of all you saw. The weather looked gorgeous and the gardens were clearly well chosen to add variety. I know you had fun. Maybe I'll get back to one someday.

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