Native Plant Garden Club volunteer Janet Stroebl. Photos: Jackie Maas
In 2022, the City of Plymouth decided to grow in a different direction. “We had shifted our attitudes and our mindsets to, ‘Let’s try something different in terms of maintenance that’s going to benefit other parts of nature in Plymouth as well,’” says Jason Goehring, turf and horticulture manager. The result was some 10,000 native plants being incorporated into a section of Fazendin Park, creating Plymouth’s native plant garden.
The garden is maintained by the Native Plant Garden Club, which is led by two Hennepin County master gardeners. “We depend on them to help us with plant identification, both the good and the bad,” Goehring says. “The other volunteers definitely lean on them to get them started, to show them what the goal is.”
Fazendin Park’s native plant garden.
Those interested in joining the group can reach out to volunteer coordinator Steve Frankhouser, but Goehring says walk-ins are also always welcome. “We would love to have any and all help,” he says. Volunteers are recommended to bring bug spray, gardening tools, gloves, kneeling pad, sunscreen and water bottles.
“It’s a lot of conversation and camaraderie with a little bit of weed pulling all at the same time,” Goehring says. “It’s a group of like-minded individuals who are just out there enjoying their time in the parks maintaining this pollinator garden.”
End of the Season
There are three more opportunities to volunteer at Fazendin Park’s native plant garden in 2025:
- 6–8 p.m. August 12
- 9–11 a.m. August 15
- 9–11 a.m. September 12
Interested in joining? Email volunteer coordinator Steve Frankhouser at sfrankhouser@plymouthmn.gov.
All ages. Free. Times vary. Fazendin Park, 17040 24th Ave. N.; 763.509.5230; plymouthmn.gov
