“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It Goes On.”
Robert Frost
Showing posts with label Lake Minnetonka. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lake Minnetonka. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Visiting Noerenberg Gardens

As promised, here is my post on the lovely Noerenberg Gardens.  I visited a couple of weeks ago.  It was one of those perfect evenings, just a whisper of a breeze, warm but low humidity. It's one of those days where I'm so happy to live here in Minnesota and it makes the winters easier to get through!

This was an impromptu visit, so all I had with me was my Galaxy phone.  Some photos were cropped down, but others I left as is because they show the true beauty of the garden design.



The garden starts with winding paved paths that take you around a circular garden.  The center is grass with beautiful flowers and shrubs surrounding it.  The large white flowering shrub is a variety of PG hydrangea. Unlike the southern hydrangeas, it doesn't die back to the ground in the winter and still blooms in our northern climate.








Noerenberg Memorial Gardens is known for its tranquility and spectacular beauty. Situated along the shore of Crystal Bay on Lake Minnetonka, Noerenberg is widely regarded as one of the finest formal gardens in Minnesota. Among its blend of perennials, annuals, trees, shrubs, and vines the garden features ornamental shade trees and a stand of conifers, an extensive day lily collection, and "Northern Lights" azaleas.


 A close-up of some purple coneflowers...



Cultivated and native plants grow together in several of the flower beds.  The bright pink flower in the photo above is called Swamp Smartweed and is growing next to our lake shore at home. It actually can have its feet in water for a considerable amount of time. This makes it an ideal plant for a rain garden.


 Some lovely Russian Sage in front of a PG Hyrdrangea shrub...


I thought this was an especially pretty combination, white cone-flowers, pale pink nicotiana and some unknown grasses and bright pink flowers...



 Blue Love in a Mist...









A lovely trellis/pergola with gorgeous flowers planted on each side. 



And now for a bit of history...
Grain Belt Brewery founder Frederick Noerenberg and his family built their estate on the shore of Lake Minnetonka in 1890. Influenced by English Landscape Style, the property featured tiered rose beds and impeccably manicured lawns. As world travelers with an appreciation for natural artifacts, the family accumulated an assortment of natural specimens that appeared in the garden, including a collection of trees, plant materials and rocks.




On the opposite side of the garden you can see the gazebo 
which sits right on the edge of Lake Minnetonka.





 The columns mark the site where the original home stood.






 My husband and brother in-law relax and take in the view from the gazebo.


The gazebo has a somewhat Asian flair.  The design was 
influenced by the owners extensive travel abroad. 






 A few lake views from the gazebo...






















Lora Noerenberg Hoppe, one of the five Noerenberg children, acted as chief horticulturist on the gardens for a number of years. She bequeathed the estate to the Park District when she passed away in 1972. At her direction, the home was razed and the estate was transformed to a garden for the public’s enjoyment. 

This has to be one of the most spectacular public gardens I have ever visited.
I hope you enjoyed your tour!  

Next time I think we need to get back to some cute vintage. 
I'll be seeing you all soon!
~~~Diane~~~




history source 


Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Once More Round the Lake

We had family visiting from another state over the Labor Day holiday and we had to get them out to the premier lake in the Twin-Cities area. Luckily the rain and high humidity departed and we were blessed with a fantastic Labor Day tour of beautiful Lake Minnetonka.




Lake Minnetonka is the 10th largest lake in Minnesota; it has over 14,000 acres of water (approximately 22 square miles) with more than 100 miles of shoreline.  The maximum depth of the lake is 113 feet. Lake Minnetonka is also the most heavily-used lake in Minnesota. (source)





Since my relatives are land-lubbers, we decided on the safe and smooth ride aboard the lovely and very vintage Steamboat Minnehaha. In the early 1900's the Steamboat Minnehaha was created as an extension of the Twin Cities' streetcar system.


 The Steamboat Minnehaha on Lake Minnetonka, MN.:
 source

It all came to an end with the rise in popularity of automobiles and the steamboat was scuttled in 1926.  For five decades, the Minnehaha lay at the bottom of lake Minnetonka.

That changed, however, in 1980, when a salvage team discovered her and raised her back to the surface.  Finally, after a complete restoration, the Minnehaha returned to passenger service in 1996 and has operated on Lake Minnetonka every season since.


Watching the Minnehaha come into dock from a previous tour. 







 Waiting to board....




 I have the window seat and can't wait to get going!






 We are just leaving the dock and heading out of the bay into the main lake.



The lake was not nearly as crowded as in the warmer days of summer, but there were still many people out enjoying the beautiful day.  We saw several groups of sailboats and kayaks like the ones in the photos above.



This dad had his daughter out on the paddleboard and was keeping
 a close eye on us!






 An actual steam engine still runs in the belly of the Steamboat Minnehaha.









Here are just a few of the more modest homes on Lake Minnetonka. These are the ones I would choose to live in if I had a full-time housekeeper, gardener and maintenance crew!

Some historic mansions remain on the lake, but are more secluded and mostly hidden from the prying eyes of tourists.  A few include prominent estates once owned by the first families of Minnesota, such as the Pillsburys (as in the Pillsbury Doughboy), the Daytons (Daytons Department Stores and founder of Target stores) and the Bells (General Mills). Most of the larger homes now are owned by professional athletes and insurance company CEO's.

The former Pillsbury house may still be for sale, I found this info on a real-estate site. It's been reduced to $24 million. Here's a photo from the site.....

Former Pillsbury House – $24,000,000 | Pricey Pads:


 source




I much prefer these "smaller" homes!









Our tour took us around the "Big Island" and then back into the bay.  It was a pleasurable hour-long cruise around the lake.









The Steamboat Minnehaha is a floating museum and a real treasure to the city of Excelsior on the bay of Lake Minnetonka. 

I hope you enjoyed this little trip with me. We still have a few more weeks of this glorious weather so maybe we'll make it back out to the lake before winter sets in.  I hope you're enjoying this 
beautiful time of year too!

See you soon!
~~ Diane ~~