Terry Engels and Karen Frohrip, co-chairs of the Munsinger Clemens Botanical Society in St. Cloud will present
Munsinger Garden and Clemens Gardens: 
From Dreams to Reality

Munsinger Garden and the Clemens Gardens are two distinct but adjacent areas making up a part of the St. Cloud city park system. Munsinger Garden is older, dating from the 1930s. It was the realized dream of Joseph Munsinger, park superintendent at that time. He secured WPA funds and workers to create the initial paths and garden areas, which still exist today. In the mid 80s David Morreim became head of gardens and began to refurbish and expand this garden, greatly enhancing the horticultural variety and adding specialty areas. This is an informal garden with winding shady paths under tall pines and island beds in organic shapes, meandering along the banks of the Mississippi River.

Clemens Gardens provides considerable contrast, being a collection of six gardens characterized by formal European style situated on the sunny hill above Munsinger. Among them is a rose garden, a white garden, a four-color garden. All are decorated with ironwork in the form of fencing, benches, urns, trellis work, and fountains. The design is classical European but the use of plant material is decidedly American. Clemens is the result of financial generosity of the Clemens family and the in-house design of the staff under the leadership of David Morreim, until his retirement in 2000, and now that of his longtime assistant, Julie Dierkhising. Each year more than 100,000 plants are grown for use in the Gardens in the four greenhouses on the property. 

posted 2-14-2002