Dear Gardening Friends,
Circumstances conspired to bring me to Rochester, Minnesota, just as the 2020 gardening season was getting underway. I knew well in advance that I would be traveling, so I did some early planting in our own Bucks County PA, zone 6B garden, before we drove west. I put in some Kale, Collard Greens, Swiss Chard and Broccoli, as well as Tomatoes, Red and Green Peppers, and Blue Lake Green Beans. I added a mix of Carrots, Celery and three kinds of lettuces that are harvest-able as I write! That said, any of you who tend a plot of land, or even a windowsill, will understand my remorse at having to relinquish the comfort of watching growing things grow, for unfamiliar turf. Imagine my surprise then, when after arriving, I stumbled onto acres of gardens, just a pleasant ten minute walk away from my temporary residence on the South Fork of the Zumbro River?!
Circumstances conspired to bring me to Rochester, Minnesota, just as the 2020 gardening season was getting underway. I knew well in advance that I would be traveling, so I did some early planting in our own Bucks County PA, zone 6B garden, before we drove west. I put in some Kale, Collard Greens, Swiss Chard and Broccoli, as well as Tomatoes, Red and Green Peppers, and Blue Lake Green Beans. I added a mix of Carrots, Celery and three kinds of lettuces that are harvest-able as I write! That said, any of you who tend a plot of land, or even a windowsill, will understand my remorse at having to relinquish the comfort of watching growing things grow, for unfamiliar turf. Imagine my surprise then, when after arriving, I stumbled onto acres of gardens, just a pleasant ten minute walk away from my temporary residence on the South Fork of the Zumbro River?!
In a municipal effort to make gardens available to the broadest possible public, the city of Rochester has tilled several acres of alluvial flood plain, creating several hundred 20 X 30 foot plots. Gardeners are responsible for supplying their own water, though there has been ample rain since I have been here. Each plot is available for a nominal $30 dollars per year. You locals can go here
https://www.rochestermn.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/rentals-reservations/garden-plots
for further information, though I suspect that the number of available plots for this year has been exhausted.
https://www.rochestermn.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/rentals-reservations/garden-plots
for further information, though I suspect that the number of available plots for this year has been exhausted.
The plots themselves represent a subset of humanity in the range of vegetables, fruits and flowers being grown. Any flora that the climate will support is under cultivation.
Following is a photo essay documenting the variety and universality of gardens found here, just as the local population is itself, global. Some are fastidiously organized and neat, reflecting the gardener’s degree of passion/obsession. Others are more “laissez faire.” At least one of the gardens is devoted to melons, with 38 plants with varieties including Minnesota Midget, Tiger, Delicious Number 51, Petite Yellow, and Early Silver Line. Some of the gardeners are “old hands” at growing things, while some are getting their hands in the soil for the first time.
So, while the produce of our garden is being tended to by our friends, Sidney and Eddie, having these gardens close by is a visual comfort and a pleasant reminder of
the joys awaiting us at home. What's doing in your garden this season?!
Copyright 2020 Everett H. Scott. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2020 Everett H. Scott. All rights reserved.
