Munsinger & Clemens Gardens

In all of the years I lived in Central Minnesota, I had never visited the Gardens! I knew they were up in St. Cloud, and I love flowers, but just never found the time to check them out. Thankfully, Tara had mentioned how she was supposed to have gone with friends, but something happened and they weren't able to go. I suggested we go the next day!

When she got home from work, she mentioned that it was pretty cloudy out, and that it was going to rain. I looked outside, and somehow convinced her that if there was going to be rain, we'd totally beat it with a visit to the Gardens.

It was around 5 minutes from her house, and she hadn't been there before either! She had even gone to college up there! HA! I didn't feel so bad after hearing that. Oh, and she's lived in the area her whole life.

Going to Munsinger & Clemens Gardens in July had some beautiful flowers, but I think it was towards the end of the spring blooming flowers so we probably missed the best viewing of flowers. I would say mid spring would be a wonderful time to take a walk through the gardens.

We started out in the Formal Garden. This plant, which I don't know what it is, really caught my attention. The small leaves are a deep purple, as you can see and is more shiny. The mature leaves are a lighter purple and more matte in appearance. It grows on a thick single stalk. I wish there had been a label near it to know what it was.

Many of the perennials were past their bloom and didn't get to see many of those. I'm guessing this next one is an orchid of some sort, but again, not sure of which variety. I just loved how beautiful it was. I really want to go back and take more pictures of it.

I've never really walked through a botanical garden before, and this was just wonderful to walk and enjoy. Now, I think in most places like this, I'm one who can sort of glance at the things around me, and I keep walking. I suppose "thankfully" many of the flowers I would've wanted to take lots of pictures of were already past their prime, because it literally could've taken me a few hours to enjoy every plant here if it had been a month ago.

The small plants are what I found enjoyable. Many I'd never seen before, and have decided they MUST go in my garden. Now, I'm guessing some may be shade plants, and that simply means I get to have a shade garden. I can handle that. aren't the colors on these awesome?!

As Tara and I walked through the garden, all I could think of was how wonderful it would be to have an estate, and then create a garden like these, where people could walk along paths and enjoy all varieties of plants! Yes, I like my little garden, but it's got a long way to go before it's anything I can brag about.

When we got to the Virginia Clemens Rose Garden, I was so disappointed that m phone wasn't capturing the colors and designs of the blooms. I'm not a huge rose fan, but the colors, like the one above were fabulous. This bright reddish pink, with the white I loved, but my phone didn't get it very well.

The rose above reminded me of a peony. All of the petals as a big flower head. It didn't make me think rose, but it was in the rose garden, and you could tell in person that it was. I wish again that they'd have given us an idea of the variety. I should call and ask. Make them walk like I did naming off all of the plants. lol

This one I totally loved the color. It looked like someone had flicked paint on the petals. You know what I didn't do though? I didn't take time to smell them. I'm sure that's unforgivable in some places. Next time? And yes, I realize it's pink, and I don't do pink, but that was just a cool design.

Again, I simply loved the color of this flower. I also like how it was at the peak of it's bloom. There's something gentle about this rose that made me wish I could pluck it. Of course, I could never bring myself to do something like that. I don't think I could ever grow a cut garden because I just want to enjoy the blooms until they disappear outside. It's the same with the photo below. It's such a soft color, and the blossom is so perfect.

What's neat about visiting here is that the gardens are only separated by a road. On the opposite side of the second garden is the Mississippi River. You can take a break from your stroll by sitting on one of the benches.

Down here, we saw some beautiful shade plants, and there was even a little cactus garden. I don't think I'll ever get over the variety of plants that God has created. None of us will ever have seen all that He's made! Some of the cactus was so strange! I was fascinated by them.

Ok, so here's what I found SO incredibly neat about the above plant. The center piece on the bottom right is where all of the leaves "fall" from. I took a closeup of it and it's on the bottom left. I know, I know, it's a bit blurry, but what's amazing is that the center is so tight, you can feel the spikes if you run your hand over it, but they're smooth along that center piece. The spikes don't stab you. Now, when the leaves fall open what you see in the top picture of the collage, they'll totally stick you if you touch them.

As we got toward the bottom of Munsinger Gardens, Tara and I both heard the peacocks calling out. I thought they might be wandering the grounds, but it turned out they were in their coop. Come to think of it, I never saw anyone who works/volunteers at the Gardens. Not surprising the birds weren't out, but they sure were beautiful.

We finished out tour by winding our way back up to Clemens Gardens. There were a variety of fountains we stopped to check out as we were walking, and this one struck me as interesting. Below where the water is coming out, the fountain is surrounded by bull heads. lol Each of the heads is spitting out a stream of water.

We had a marvelous time, and the best part? It's free! As we walked around, we noticed so many spots where a couple could take their wedding photos. I mean, how could you resist, especially when the Gardens are in full bloom? They're open daily through the season until 10pm. There's a gift shop, but unfortunately (or Fred might be thinking "fortunately") it was closed. I'm sure I would've come away with some sort of keepsake! Next time.

Have you ever visited a garden like this? What is your favorite flower?