The Dirt: Call for Beautiful Gardens, Centennial celebration at the Conservatory and more

Is your garden looking good? Or maybe there's another garden you've seen and admired.

Why not share its beauty? Nominate it in our annual "Beautiful Gardens" contest.

Every year, Home+Garden seeks out the best private residential gardens, then publishes the winners throughout the non-gardening season. Each winning garden will be showcased in the Star Tribune and online at www.startribune.com.

The garden can be of any type — big or small; urban, suburban or rural; edible, ornamental or both. It can be located anywhere in Minnesota or western Wisconsin.

It could be your parents' garden, your friend's garden or your own. Why keep a beautiful thing all to yourself?

It's easy to nominate your favorite garden. Just send a few snapshots, along with a brief description, including: who tends the garden, where it's located and what makes it special.

We'll accept entries through July 20. Send entries to: Beautiful Gardens, Star Tribune, 650 3rd Av. S., Minneapolis, MN 55488. Or e-mail entries to beautifulgardens@startribune.com.

Como Park is celebrating a big birthday this month: The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory first opened its doors 100 years ago. To mark the milestone, Como has planned a weekend of festivities June 19-21.

There's a brand-new garden to explore, the Centennial Garden, inspired by the traditional European landscape gardens that drew visitors to Como at the turn of the century.

"It's a more formal and floral garden that hearkens back to the early 1900s," said horticultural curator Tina Dombrowski. You can picture Victorian ladies with parasols strolling its walkways, past roses, peonies, hedges and pyramidal evergreens. There's also a central fountain, plus plenty of seating for relaxing and taking in the sights and scents.

The new garden echoes the former McKnight formal garden, which was demolished when the current Visitor Center was built. "This is an updated version, borrowing parts of our Como Park history," Dombrowski said.

The celebration weekend will begin with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the new garden at 9:30 a.m. June 19. That night, the conservatory dome will be lit purple. But first, visitors can pack a picnic and take in a free night of live music, followed by a showing of the 1986 rock musical comedy "Little Shop of Horrors."

The conservatory has been the setting for many weddings over the past century. On June 20 at noon, couples are invited to a vow-renewal ceremony. The first 100 couples will receive a flower from the conservatory and a 100th anniversary vow-renewal certificate.

Other events throughout the weekend include strolling musicians, history talks, animal programs at the zoo, and interactive events. For details, visit www.comoconservatory.org.

Also at Como, check out the 8,000-square-foot Edible Garden exhibit, now in its fifth growing season. The garden features an array of vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers. All plants are grown from seed, and every plant in the garden has at least one edible part.

The exhibit is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and will run throughout the summer. At noon and 3 p.m., Monday though Friday, garden staffers will offer talks about growing techniques, how to harvest and prepare food from your garden, natural pest control and creative edible landscape design.

Como Park and the conservatory are located at 1225 Estabrook Dr., St. Paul.

Want to help children learn about pollinators in a fun way? In honor of National Pollinator Week, local author Dawn Pape will present a puppet show based on her new book, "Mason Meets a Mason Bee." The book is about a boy who is afraid of bees until he meets a talking mason bee who teaches him about pesticide use, native bees and native plants. The puppet show will be held at 10 a, m. June 18 at Barnes & Noble, 2100 N. Snelling Av., Roseville.

If this is the year you hope to create your own back-yard retreat, here's an opportunity for inspiration and information. Gertens is offering an "Outdoor Living Extravaganza" on June 20, including free hands-on seminars and workshops on outdoor furniture, water features, outdoor accents and fire features. Hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Gertens, 5500 Blaine Av., Inver Grove Heights.

Kim Palmer