Munsinger Gardens and Clemens Gardens
Encyclopedia
Munsinger Gardens and Clemens Gardens (7 acres) are two distinct but adjacent gardens on the banks of the Mississippi River
northwest of the intersection of University Drive SE and Kilian Blvd SE, and along the southernmost portion of Riverside Drive SE, in St. Cloud
, Minnesota
. The gardens are open every day from 7:00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m., spring to fall. There is no admission fee.
Munsinger Gardens are informal with winding flower-bordered paths under tall pine
s, and date from 1915 when the city purchased the former site of a sawmill as a park. The gardens themselves were constructed primarily in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration
. Projects from this period included planting trees and flowerbeds, and building rock-lined paths, a lily pond, and a fountain. The first greenhouse was built in 1938; it has subsequently been replaced. The gardens were refurbished and expanded in the 1980s.
The Clemens Gardens were developed primarily in the 1990s by Bill and Virginia Clemens, who then donated them to the City of St. Cloud. They include six gardens in a formal European style with American plantings and fountains:
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
northwest of the intersection of University Drive SE and Kilian Blvd SE, and along the southernmost portion of Riverside Drive SE, in St. Cloud
St. Cloud, Minnesota
St. Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest population center in the state's central region. The population was 65,842 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Stearns County...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. The gardens are open every day from 7:00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m., spring to fall. There is no admission fee.
Munsinger Gardens are informal with winding flower-bordered paths under tall pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
s, and date from 1915 when the city purchased the former site of a sawmill as a park. The gardens themselves were constructed primarily in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
. Projects from this period included planting trees and flowerbeds, and building rock-lined paths, a lily pond, and a fountain. The first greenhouse was built in 1938; it has subsequently been replaced. The gardens were refurbished and expanded in the 1980s.
The Clemens Gardens were developed primarily in the 1990s by Bill and Virginia Clemens, who then donated them to the City of St. Cloud. They include six gardens in a formal European style with American plantings and fountains:
- Formal Garden (1986) - flowers with fountain.
- Perennial Garden - perennials hardy to Minnesota winters, with a 12 feet (3.7 m) high, cast ironCast ironCast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
replica of a pre-Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
fountain patterned after the original in ColumbusColumbus, GeorgiaColumbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
, GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
.
- Rest Area Garden - clematisClematisClematis is a genus of about 300 species within the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Their garden hybrids have been popular among gardeners beginning with Clematis × jackmanii, a garden standby since 1862; more hybrid cultivars are being produced constantly. They are mainly of Chinese and Japanese...
and roseRoseA rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
vines, with one of the tallest outdoor fountains in Minnesota.
- Treillage Garden - an arbor trellisTrellisTrellis may refer to:* Trellis Drainage System* Trellis , an architectural structure often used to support plants* Trellis , a special kind of graph, often used in coding...
(104 feet long, with central dome 24 feet (7.3 m) high), with fountain under the dome, surrounded by four single-color gardens.
- Virginia Clemens Rose Garden (1990) - 1,100 roseRoseA rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
s including floribundaFloribundaFloribunda may refer to:*A popular rose cultivar group, see Floribunda *A former cactus genus now placed in Cipocereus* Cassia floribunda, a synonym for Senna septemtrionalis, a plant species...
s, tree roses, hybrid teaHybrid TeaHybrid Tea is a cultivar group of roses, created by cross-breeding two different types of roses, initially by hybridising Hybrid Perpetuals with Tea roses...
s, shrub roses, and grandifloras.
- White Garden (1994) - inspired by the Sissinghurst Castle garden.