John Larsen talks about the impressive garden he maintains with his son Jacob and husband Mike at their home on Lake of the Isles.
How long have you lived in your current house?
My husband Mike and I moved in in 2012, and our son Jacob (who is also an avid gardener and botanist) came to live with us in 2016.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in St Louis, where I fell in love with beautiful gardens and landscapes. My husband Mike grew up in Zimmerman, MN, but he is not a passionate gardener. Our son Jacob grew up in South Dakota, where he spent a fair amount of time working in gardens and greenhouses. Jacob, who just received his master's in botany, has been a great partner in the garden.
What do you do for work?
I'm an architect, environmentalist and nonprofit junkie! Mike is an incredible home chef. Jacob is working a couple of jobs this summer before pursuing his doctorate in botany
When, why and how did you get into gardening?
I grew up tending to my mom's gardens and mowing lawns for money. At the time, I thought it crazy to be on my hands and knees planting and pulling weeds all day. Silly me — now it's my favorite place to be!
Jacob has a natural way with all plants. He learned some of his gardening skills growing up, but he has become more interested in and knowledgeable about the subject over the past few years.
What does your garden consist of?
As a passionate avocational gardener, I love to grow everything. Finding the balance between growing what I know to be beautiful (often simpler, more limited planting palettes) with growing everything we like to grow is an ongoing challenge. Jacob helps balance my wild desires with his simpler approach.
All that said, we have a large veggie garden with 20+ varieties of veggies. We also have a nice dahlia garden with approximately 80 dahlias of about 40 varieties.
We have a peaceful, wandering shade garden with lots of native woodland perennials, featuring ghost ferns, yews, anemones and Japanese forest grass.
And the list goes on — we grow lots of rhododendrons, fruit trees (five apple trees, two pear trees, an apricot tree and a peach tree), a boulevard zinnia garden to share with the neighborhood and a perennial sun border featuring peonies, lilies, asters and more. It's hard to stop!
Do you do most of the gardening yourself, or do you have help from friends, neighbors, etc.?
We know it's crazy, but we do the gardening ourselves.
How much time do you spend in your garden?
That's hard to figure. Depending on the time of year, it can be lots or very little. In the spring and fall, we can total more than 40 hours per week among the three of us (Jacob and I are about half and half, with Mike pitching in at times).
In the summer, it drops to an average of 10-15 hours per week, with a spike around the end of June when all the shrubs want trimming. Winter is quiet, but we do bring lots of annuals into the house.
What is your favorite thing about gardening and why? Least favorite thing?
My favorite thing is whiling away hours on a cooler day, going from one area to another. It's the best when I'm working with Jacob, and we have casual conversations about random topics before drifting back into quiet, introverted time. It's so lovely.
My least favorite thing is probably dealing with crabgrass or intense rabbit damage. This past winter, the rabbits killed so many shrubs in our yard — yikes! The rabbits also like to eat our vegetable seedlings before they can really get going.
Any dreams for your garden in the years to come?
Every gardener I know never stops dreaming. So, — we — always have more plans. Right now, it's probably about whether we build a greenhouse to keep the gardening going year-round.
How else do you spend your time in our lovely neighborhood?
We feel wildly lucky to live on both Lake of the Isles and Kenwood Park. It feels like we live in the country. We love to walk and bike Isles. We cross-country ski, skate and snowshoe in the winter and enjoy walking the wooded sections around Cedar Lake in all seasons.
It's interesting to be asked this series of questions as though I am the only gardener. To me, it's a team effort that brings our family closer together and grounds us where we live.
What is Upstream?
In part, my love of growing things (and for our natural surroundings) has inspired me to start an initiative with a group of people from radically diverse backgrounds who are passionate about caring for our wonderful state and all it has to offer. It's called Upstream.
Upstream channels Minnesotans' love for our shared places into greater trust, connection and stewardship.
Mike, Jacob and I are proud and honored to be able to do this in our garden, the parks and the streets nearby our home and across the state.
