New Northern Gardener Available!

The September/October issue of Northern Gardener is in the hands of subscribers and will be on newsstands in about a week. This is a special issue because it marks the official 150th Anniversary of MSHS! For a century and a half, the hort society has been helping gardeners in Minnesota. The big anniversary party will be held at Tangletown Gardens Farm on Sept. 24. You can read more about that event and find a link to sign up for it here.

The September/October issue includes an article about the MSHS history and about how the society will continue to serve gardeners for decades to come. Since its beginning, MSHS has shown an ability to adapt and change as gardening in Minnesota changed. As the article notes,

Over the past century and a half, the focus of MSHS has changed many times: from growing fruit for the North to vegetables, ornamental plants and turf, then native plants and those that pollinators need. From being an organization for those who made their living in horticulture to becoming a group to help home gardeners. From being an organization that encouraged the creation of beautiful parks and public spaces to one that helps low-income people grow food to feed their families.

Through all these adaptations, it identified itself as an organization to serve a community of gardeners dedicated to growing plants for the North and nurturing future gardening generations. As F.M. Dolan told the MSHS membership in 1904, the society’s goal was to “create community and serve the members and the public. The plants are just the vehicle.”

We hope you will read about our past and our future in this issue. Elsewhere in the issue, we have profiles of two fantastic gardens! Susan Davis Price and John Gregor take us to Bayfield, Wis., to meet Martha Larson and her award-winning garden of stone, plants and art on the shores of Lake Superior. Meleah Maynard and photographer Tracy Walsh show us Verna Von Goltz’s suburban garden where the gardener’s design sensibility and plant choices have created a serene backyard oasis. Also, if you have ever doubted that gardening is good for you, check out Diane McGann’s article on the healing powers of horticulture.

It’s a great issue to celebrate the 150th anniversary of MSHS!