Home & Garden | Southwest Connector

Add long-blooming perennials for color all season

Many of us would love to have a yard full of beautiful flowering plants that bloom all season long, providing food for pollinators as well as visual interest. Lots of perennials have showy flowers in … more

By LAUREN BETHKE, Master Gardener | 4/28/22

Installing a small elevator and widening doorways made this lower level more accessible. (Photo by Andrea Rugg Photography)

Home renovations to age in place

At age 69, I was a “silver sneaker” poster child – fit and healthy, living on my own, fiercely independent and proud of it. Ironically, my main fitness exercise, avid fast walking … more

By SUSAN SCHAEFER | 4/28/22

Go native in your yard for bugs, birds, beauty and biodiversity

Despite the roller-coaster temperatures and freeze-thaw hazards in Minneapolis this month, after all it is March and the familiar flowers of spring will soon emerge. But as many people anticipate and … more

By Constance Pepin | 4/5/22

How to create a food forest

Food forests represent an abundant past and a hopeful future. A diverse planting of native trees, shrubs, and perennials that bear edible flowers, fruit, nuts, and seeds; food forests grow all the … more

by Russ Henry | 3/23/22

Not sure what to put in your boulevard? Plan ahead for success. Pick plants well-suited to the conditions.

Wondering what to plant in those tough spots?

As a Master Gardener, people ask me lots of questions about their yards, but probably the most common type of question is “I have a spot that’s hard to grow things in. What should I plant … more

By LAUREN BETHKE, Master Gardener | 3/23/22

PASSIONATE ABOUT BUNGALOWS

What is the history of the Bungalow Club?Longtime Bungalow Club President Tim Counts: The Twin Cities Bungalow Club was started in 1995 by Kristi Johnson, who lived with her husband in a Longfellow … more

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN | 2/23/22

Purchase smarter

During the pandemic, we all became well-acquainted with our stuff. Perhaps you purged a lot of things to make more room for … well, living. Or maybe you acquired more things to make staying … more

By JESSIE ROELOFS | 10/1/21

Linda Kjerland was a Garden for Wildlife mentee in her first year of developing a backyard habitat for wildlife. (Photo by Margie O’Loughlin)

Longfellow Garden for Wildlife Yard Tour 2021

Linda Kjerland moved to her Longfellow home 10 months ago, from a condo in St. Paul. Over the course of the winter, she started thinking about how to expand her garden and turn her lawn into … more

By Margie O’Loughlin | 9/3/21

Artist Anita White (right) with art student Henry Holdsworth, in White’s garden. (Photo courtesy Hillary Oppmann)

LoLa artists weekend

The LoLa Artists Weekend this month will include Katie Cameron at Cry Baby Clay, her newly opened shop and studio on Minnehaha Avenue. “I’m super excited to have my studio up and running … more

by Sharon Parker, LoLa | 9/2/21

Can I recycle this?

It's the age-old question that never seems to have an easy answer. Fortunately, understanding how things are recycled can help point you in the right direction. The purpose of a recycling facility is … more

By JESSIE ROELOFS | 9/2/21

Get a free rain barrel

Friends of Mississippi River (FMR) is giving away free rain barrels and conversion kits this summer in partnership with the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO). The barrels hold 55 … more

7/28/21

Miss Northland, Wabin Agiizi Goo Ikwe (Morning Spirit Woman) is Lori Martin-Kingbird: a junior at the University of Minnesota who presented at the Celebration of Language Festival held on the athletic fields at Anne Sullivan Elementary School on Saturday, June 19. Martin-Kingbird is an enrolled member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in Northern Minnesota, and is a candidate in this year’s Miss Minnesota Competition. Her social initiative in the competition is called “Water You Doing? Advocating for our Natural Resources.” She believes that water conservation starts at the individual level: first with one person, then with one community, and finally with one nation raising awareness and then standing up for safe drinking water. She said, “If we all work together, we can build hope for our future generations to sustain cleaner, healthier water.” (Photo by Margie O'Loughlin)

'Water You Doing? Advocating for our natural resources'

6/30/21

Trent Bowman is the president of NAREB, a coalition of Black real estate professionals. He said, “Throughout history, people of color have been left out of the homeownership game. It’s about leaving a legacy. It’s about building wealth in our communities. We have to understand the history of housing discrimination, so we can work in the present to leave something for our kids in the future.” (Photo courtesy of NAREB)

Reimagining dream of home ownership for all

In a recent article about the Twin Cities housing market during COVID-19, real estate professionals characterized the market as “frenzied.” A picture emerged of Minneapolis homes selling … more

By MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN | 5/26/21

Gardening is a family passion for Longfellow residents David, Beth, Elsie (age 12) and Jack (age 9) Gray. Their latest project is a high-tunnel greenhouse and roadside stand south of Moon Palace Books. (Photo submitted)

Fresh food at Minnehaha and E. Lake St.

In a place where many buildings were destroyed by fire, something new is growing.A high-tunnel greenhouse south of Moon Palace Books (3032 Minnehaha Ave.) and Arbeiter Brewing will provide fresh, … more

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN | 4/27/21

Volunteers assist staff at the ReStore locations. (Photo submitted)

Do-It-Yourselfers love ReStore

Local Do-It-Yourselfers head to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore at 2700 Minnehaha Ave. to get inspired.The outlet sells new and like-new furniture, appliances and building materials at discounted … more

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN | 4/27/21

Minneapolis Home Energy Disclosure program wins Innovation Award

The city of Minneapolis Home Energy Disclosure program was honored with a competitive Innovation Award from the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA) on March 23, 2021. Starting with the … more

4/27/21

Bee lawns protect pollinators and your precious time

There are better ways to spend your spring and summer than mowing the lawn. The noise, smell of exhaust fumes, heat, and humidity add up to a less than pleasant chore. How many perfect Saturday … more

By Russ Henry, Bee Safe Minneapolis, Minnehaha Landscaping | 3/24/21

When Wendy Wolff and her family returned from a year working at the Holden retreat center, she found herself helping friends and family move. "People wanted to hear about why we left, what it was like, and how we changed," recalled Wolff. "They listened as I told them that the most significant shift we made as a result of our time at Holden was thinking more intentionally about what we brought into our home and what we let go of by donating, gifting or purging anything we did not love or need." She quit her job working for Minneapolis Public Schools as a therapist, and Blissworks was born. (Photo submitted)

Letting go to live blissfully

Helping people let go of things to focus on a new season of life is what Blissworks is all about. Wendy Wolff launched Blissworks, Beautiful Living in Simplified Spaces, in 2019. The company merges … more

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN | 11/25/20

Wise construction during COVID-19: Longfellow contractor adjusts work, looks ahead

Longfellow contractor Phillip Hide can often make a bathroom or kitchen work better by reconfiguring the space. (Photo submitted) COVID-19 has changed the remodeling business … more

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN | 10/2/20

ON THE JOB with Minnehaha Falls Landscaping

Groundcover spreads early in the spring, and forsythia offers an early pollen and nectar source for bees. (Photo submitted) Russ Henry started gardening with his mom when he … more

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN | 10/2/20