Wander the Winter Wonderlands of Minnesota
Mary Gadek, Dakota County Master Gardener
As we embark into our Minnesota winter, let’s wander into the many winter wonderlands in our state. The landscape is transforming into a quiet, snow-covered land, where nature’s beauty takes on a serene and magical existence. Many Minnesota outdoor and indoor garden sights are offered in the winter with opportunities of quiet meditation, reconnection with nature and new interaction with our environment. Let’s explore the winter garden possibilities available to us in Minnesota in this article.
GO OUTSIDE
Many options exist in Minnesota to embrace the magic of the landscape, dusted with the delicate powder of snow and its meditative stillness. Also, some places allow for more active winter interaction, like cross country skiing, snow shoeing, ice skating or snowmobiling. Here are some suggestions:
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum: Trails for driving, walking, snow showing, cross country skiing. https://arb.umn.edu/winter
St. Paul Winter Farmers’ Market: Featuring many Minnesota grown or made products available during the off-season, such as meats, cheese, eggs, honey, bakery goods, and milk. https://minnesotagrown.com/member/st-paul-downtown-farmers-winter-mkt/
Walker Sculpture Garden: View the larger-than-life sculptures, including the infamous Spoonbridge and Cherry. https://walkerart.org/visit/garden/
Franconia Sculpture Park: Acres of outdoor sculptures on hand, with a Midwinter Celebration, held in January. https://www.franconia.org/about/
Gold Medal Park: Located in the heart of Minneapolis, along the Mis sissippi River, with spectacular views of Downtown. https://www.nps.gov/miss/planyourvisit/goldmedal.htm
Rice Park: In the middle of downtown St. Paul, it hosts the St. Paul Winter Carnival. https://www.familyfuntwincities.com/rice-park-st-paul/
The trails of our many Dakota County-area parks, including: Lebanon Hills Regional Park, Whitetail Woods Regional Park, Mississipi River Greenway, Spring Lake Park Reserve.
WARM UP INSIDE
Como Conservatory: A plethora of indoor gardens, including the sunken garden, bonzai collection, fern room and orchid house. https://comozooconservatory.org/category/como-gardens/
Minneapolis Farmers’ Market: At a few different locations, these farmers’ markets can fill your hunger for Minnesota grown produce and products. https://farmersmarketsofmpls.org/winter-markets/
Conservatory and Botanical Collection at UMN College of Biological Sciences Conservatory: Come see this unique and extensive, indoor plant collection. https://cbs.umn.edu/conservatory
Edinborough Park: Come play at the indoor playground and ice rink in Edina, surrounded by indoor gardens, ponds and water falls. https://mngardens.horticulture.umn.edu/edinborough-park
These are just some of many winter wonderland choices in Minnesota. Get out there this winter, and sample its wonder! When you come back inside, your cheeks rosy from the cold and your mind filled with peaceful images, you realize that winter isn’t something to endure—it’s something to embrace.
Other sources of fun: https://mngardens.horticulture.umn.edu/view-by-season
Photo Credit: Mary Gadek (1,2,3)