A closer look at flyover land

Imagination no longer required

Remember earlier this summer when I visited the Munsinger Clemens Gardens in St. Cloud and said you'd have to use your imagination to see how it'd look later in the summer? Well, I recently had cause to drive through St. Cloud again and decided to check them out, see how summer was treating them.

Very well, as it turns out.

Things are beautifully green, including this little gazebo's roof.

The fountains are flowing, surrounded by lush flowers.

Roses are blooming.

Annuals are vivid.

Imagine just hanging out on this bench, surrounded by all this beauty.

Or taking a slow stroll, drinking in all the color.

It was a brutally hot day when I was there, but given the Gardens' location right along the Mississippi River, the heat was offset by a lovely breeze. Seriously, what are you waiting for? Get thee to St. Cloud.

Time to use your imagination

But first, thanks for all the comments and emails about my book! I'm very excited to have it out there in the world!

Now, I'm going to make you work a little bit for this post. You need to use your imagination. When you do, you'll want to take a little car ride to central Minnesota, to visit this place:

The Munsinger Clemens Gardens in St. Cloud.I visited this lovely oasis last month, but as we all know, spring has been late in Minnesota, so it wasn't anywhere near full glory. But just imagine it, full of flowers and colors, later this summer.

The Munsinger Clemens Gardens are two separate but adjacent gardens on the banks of the Mississippi. The upper garden (the Clemens), are much more formal and grand, and is the newer of the two, having been developed in the last 20 years.

The tulips were just barely out when I was there.

But they were beautiful.

The lower part of the gardens (the Munsinger) is right on the river banks and was created back in the 1930s as a WPA project. The grounds are much less formal, with paths that meander around grass "islands" meant to simulate the river itself.

The Munsinger Gardens have numerous spots to stop and enjoy the view, like this gazebo.

Or this swing, overlooking the river.

Right across the river is St. Cloud State University.

 

And more little flowers.

Apparently the residents across the street approve of the gardens, because they've done their own complementary work.

So--imagine what you might see, and then travel there to see if you're right.