Whether your thumb is stained green or you’re looking for ways to go green, the Edina Eco Yard and Garden Tour is a trip you won’t want to miss. Five local yards/gardens that demonstrate sustainability will be showcased July 31 from 1-5 p.m.
You may have already read about the amazing gardens belonging to Mark Campbell and Dianne Plunkett Latham in our Greening the Garden feature in our July issue, but you’ll get to see three other yards/gardens that demonstrate sustainable features such as drip irrigation, rain barrels, rain water capture systems for lawn and garden watering, geo-exchange ground loop systems for heating and cooling the home, solar panels, composting and residentially grown organic food.
Tickets are available for $10 in advance at Edina City Hall (4801 W. 50th St.) or else on the day of the tour for $15 at the Latham’s garden site (7013 Comanche Court), which will also host a plant sale the day of the tour to raise additional funds for EEC environmental projects. Checks should be made payable to the Edina Community Foundation with a notation for the Eco Tour. Proceeds from the tour will support Edina park projects.
The tour's featured gardens belong to:
Mark Campbell
Campbell’s garden, which won the 2009 Star Tribune’s Beautiful Gardens contest, has a supply of organically grown fruit, berries, veggies and herbs. His yard is chemical-free, and his perennials include Peonies, Daylilies and Hostas (450 varieties). He also has 50 varieties of fruit trees, vines and berries. Campbell, a chef at Beaujo’s Wine Bar & Bistro, grows herbs in and makes jam from his garden. He uses his experience with herbs in his culinary creations.
Dan and Dianne Latham
The Latham’s mini botanical garden, which won the 2010 Star Tribune Beautiful Gardens contest, has over 400 varieties of annuals, perennials, veggies, herbs, shrubs and trees. The garden features interspersing organically grown herbs, fruits and veggies (heirloom tomatoes are a highlight). The Latham’s backyard, which has 45 native Minnesota plants, has been certified by the National Wildlife Federation as a Wildlife Habitat.
Green features include 2,000 feet of drip irrigation with four zones to water the entire garden, plus a 40-gallon rain barrel to water the many hanging plants. The garden has organic mulches such as leaves, pine needles and coco beans. Hidden under the spruce trees is a 90-gallon ComposTumbler from A.M. Leonard’s Gardener’s Edge, which is used for kitchen scraps and some yard waste.
Scott and Martha Weicht
A geo-exchange ground loop system used for heating and cooling and a 2,500-gallon rain water capture system for lawn and plant watering highlight the green features in the Weicht’s yard. The Weicht’s home is also built for future solar power. Scott, who works for Adolfson & Peterson—a LEED-certified builder of geo-exchange systems, solar systems and LEED-certified buildings—will be there to answer questions about the sustainable features of their yard and home.
Jon and Yuko Moon
The Moons, who have three kinds of rain barrels, will demonstrate how to set up and utilize rain barrels. Jon, a member of the EEC’s Water Quality Working Group as well as the Conservation League of Edina, has a vegetable garden he waters with the barrels, and he also uses drip irrigation in his front Hosta bed. In the backyard, there’s a naturally occurring rain garden where rainwater and snowmelt runoff pools and infiltrates. Water quality info will be the name of the game at this site, which will include a water quality display from the Nine Mile Creek Watershed District.
Greg and Cindy Nelson
The Nelsons have a 13 module PV Solar System installed on their yard shed, which supplies about 35 percent of the Nelson home’s electrical use. Enhanced Home Systems of Eden Prairie, where Greg works, installed the system. This stop in the tour will teach you why solar power is a great choice for residents and businesses.
For more information, call tour chair Dianne Plunkett Latham at 952-941-3542.
