On our way home from Alexandria, we took a slight detour and drove into St. Cloud to see the Munsinger and Clemens Gardens. It had been many years since we have been there.
The Munsinger Gardens are located along the Mississippi River. A brief timeline includes: In 1915 the city of St. Cloud acquired the site of a former sawmill where in 1926 Campfire Girls planted Scotch and Norway pines that still shade the grounds today. In 1930 the gardens were developed using labor from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), and thus was the beginning of Munsinger Gardens.
Today there are thousands of annuals and perennials and I believe every single one of them was in bloom the day we visited! It was an immense splash of color. Breathtaking.
The Clemens Gardens are up the hill from Munsinger Gardens where there are stunning, sun-loving plants.
From the brochure, Clemens Gardens was “developed as a gift of love from Bill Clemens to his wife, Virginia”. I had heard the love story before, so I looked on the internet to get more details.
In 1988 Bill Clemens bought a vacant lot across from his home to protect their river view and prevent commercial building. They gave the property to the City of St. Cloud Parks department.
Virginia suffered from Multiple Sclerosis and had limited mobility. She loved roses.
In 1990 Bill funded the construction of the Virginia Clemens Rose Garden so she could look out and enjoy the thousands of roses from her window.
It is such a sweet story!
And what a legacy for all of us to enjoy these spectacular gardens.
