BLOOMING - New Richland residents were able to enjoy a beautiful sight at the city garden all summer long, located alongside Highway 30 .
Star Eagle photo by Barb Finseth
By BARB FINSETH
Staff Writer
The Town & Country Garden Club had another bloomingly beautiful year for their City Garden on Hwy. 30 in New Richland, thanks to the dedicated volunteer work by their members.
It was a challenging year of heat and drought, and every gardener will have their own story of success and failure for this year's flowers and vegetables. It has been no different for the Garden Club.
They planted their annual plants of petunias, alyssum, salvia and others on May 26th. The next day it rained 1.5 inches, followed by several nights of a late season frost. Then there was no rain for weeks until June 20th with about three-quarters of an inch. During that month, the temperatures stayed in the 90's with high humidity, and the flowers demanded constant hose watering to help them get established. Fortunately, there were "just in time" rains, along with additional watering after that, with the result of another flourishing of flowers for this season.
The Garden Club has had flowers on this corner since 1966. In December of 1965, eleven rural and city women came together to form The Town & Country Garden Club. These founding members were: Cordelia Bethke, Clara Russell, Del Jensen, Emily Matz, Veronica Miller, Mary Sandvold, Margaret Barnett, Marian Wakefield, Mary Wenzel, Donna Williams, and Esther Boettcher. In the 56 years since then, the City Garden plot has undergone many changes and challenges.
In 1965, this site for the City Garden was a part of the tract of land that included the bowling alley, owned and built in 1959 by Bill and Jean Horn of New Richland. In 1964, they sold the bowling alley and land extending to Hwy. 30 to Merlin Bohlen of New Richland. When approached with the request to use the land across the creek from the bowling alley for the start of a city garden, Merlin said, "I probably told them it was OK with me! I had no use for it."
Loads and loads of dirt were hauled in to build up that area by Pat Adams, formerly of New Richland. Pat said, "I'm pretty sure the water faucet and connecting pipes were put in at that time, too, before any flowers were ever planted there."
In 1970, Merlin sold the land and bowling alley to Jim Weydert of New Richland. Later owners included Earl Oehler, a short-time owner who went out of business, and Bob and Avis Rugroden, who eventually sold it to the current owner of Trappers Lanes. Sometime during the ownership of Earl Oehler, the land was donated to the City of New Richland for the City Garden.
The Garden started out as a flat piece of land on that corner until 1990. That year, the Garden Club contracted with Marita Wadd Floriculture Services of Waseca to design and build the half-moon center of the garden with a walking path around it. The current sign was also put in at that time.
In 1998, Marita Wadd was again contracted by the Garden Club to design and build a mound, or "hill," on the western side of the garden. The Club also worked with the City Tree Committee at this time, and Bernie Anderson of New Richland planted the background evergreens to the Garden. Bernie also donated the sitting bench that is still there today on the pathway.
There was one year that there were no flowers planted in the City Garden. In 2003, Hwy. 30 was dug out to replace all the underlying pipes, culverts, lines, etc. There were large culverts and lots of debris layed on top of the half-moon and all over the Garden. In 2004, the Garden Club removed the debris and re-planted the half-moon and other perennial areas, and cleaned up and added mulch to the pathway in the Garden. In 2012, the Garden Club had an aggregate concrete pathway installed by Ryan Weber Construction of Blooming Prairie. Several of these projects over the years were made possible by grants from the New Richland Area Foundation.
It would be correct to say that it has taken a village of people and their donated time and energy to make and maintain this City Garden for New Richland to this day, 56 years later. The Garden Club is grateful for these people, both past and present, who have worked and continue to work, to keep this Garden going for the enjoyment of so many. You don't have to be a member of the Club to help out with some of the work in the Garden.