Zion Lutheran Church sits on 10 acres of what once was pastureland in the town of Cloquet.  The grounds are blessed with a variety of habitats that include 3 wildflower gardens, 2 rain gardens, a community garden, wet land, an apple orchard and a small spruce forest.  Of late I have been thinking about how to get people engaged in this little corner of creation and my thoughts turned to my own story which I will share with you

 I grew up in MPLs on a 40-foot lot that was largely concrete as my father liked to fix cars. Our yard looked like a used car lot most of the time.  At age 10, I decided to try to earn the Girl Scout gardener badge. I’m not sure why, I guess I thought the badge was pretty.

 I found an unpaved patch of soil, planted some marigold seeds and watered them all summer.  The scout leader came to inspect in fall and said, “You have been watering weeds!”  I did not get my badge.  Mortified, as only a shy 10-year-old can be, I gave up on gardening for about 15 years.

My husband and I moved to Cloquet in 1976.  There was a housing shortage.  We had a choice of 3 places. The house we chose was 56 years old and located on a funny trapezoid shaped lot on a two-tiered hill side.  Huge red pine and spruce had been planted in the 1920 and not given much recent attention. Buckthorn had established itself.  People had been dumping trash down the hill from the street for years.

 We spent the next years clearing trash and brush. Gradually, we realized that the property had been tended by a gardener.   We uncovered perennial flower beds, stone terraces and a potting shed.  With time we noted spring ephemeral’s popping under the trees.  It was exciting to see what was growing and blooming. We found that this “neglected “soil was perfect for native plants. I stopped pulling “weeds” and let things grow until I could tell what they were. More by accident than plan, the property turned into a little island of biodiversity, a natural bird feeder and pollinator sanctuary with nectar and pollen throughout the growing season.

Our teachers were nature supplemented by the Carlton Soil and Water Dept., U of Minnesota Extension and the Cloquet public library.  My husband became a Master Gardener.

We find joy and peace walking around the garden every day.  Our congregation has allowed us to start gardens on the church campus, As we learn more about biodiversity and the interrelationships of living things, we are overjoyed to know that what has given us so much joy is of benefit to all of creation.

Details of our home garden can be found in the July/August 2015 article in the Northern Gardner Magazine, from the Minnesota State Horticulture Society. The article was written by Susan Price with photography by John Gregor.  Susan titled the article: “From the Ashes,  On the debris of the Cloquet 1918 fire,  a romantic, rustic retreat emerges”.   www.northerngardener.org