A very wet stormy June made for lush green gardens, and the skies even cooperated, lending a little sunshine for the 2013 Garden Stroll last Sunday.

A few highlights...

SARPA Garden Stroll in the News

Check out this article in the Strib highlighting the Garden Stroll:

The Dirt: Summit Av., Prospect Park and Twin Cities pond and garden tours

• Article by: LYNN UNDERWOOD , Star Tribune 
• Updated: June 18, 2013 - 3:01 PM

Summit tour and tea

Historic homes will showcase their legendary landscapes for the Summit Avenue Garden Stroll & Tea on June 23 from noon to 4 p.m. Here’s a chance to explore the front and back yards of the grand homes along St. Paul’s renowned avenue. Heirloom and English country gardens surround century-old Tudor villas. A secret garden hidden by vines, fish ponds and fountains, and a tropical paradise with grapefruit and banana trees are some of the highlights. Take the herb challenge to win prizes at a Georgian Revival herb garden. The informal back-yard Garden Tea will be catered by Laurie Crowell, owner of the Golden Fig. Ramsey County master gardeners will be on hand to answer questions. Tickets are $10 for the stroll and $12 for the tea in advance; $15 each on tour day at 1359 Summit Av. Advance tickets are available at various retailers or online at www.brownpapertickets.com. For information, go to www.sarpa.org.

Carilloneurs

There is a unique event going on during most of this week in Saint Paul--a convention of carilloneurs! 

From a local post:

What, you say, is a carilloneur? Somebody who plays a carillon! No, I didn't say carrion!

What's a carillon? A set of tuned bells in a bell tower!

Why haven't I seen one? There are only 164 of them in the entire United States, while there are 182 carillons in The Netherlands!

The three carillons in Minnesota are at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, at Central Lutheran Church in downtown Minneapolis by the Convention Center, and at House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul. 

All this week there will be free public concerts which you can listen to from the lawn of House of Hope Church at 797 Summit Avenue in St. Paul. A tent is set up to protect listeners in case of rain. Bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on!

The world's leading carillon players are coming to town to play for each other and for us.

Think of your kids. Maybe this would be something they'd enjoy. The last convention of carillon players in St. Paul was 50 years ago! There IS a weekly Sunday afternoon carillon concert series at House of Hope every Sunday beginning on the Fourth of July and every Sunday for the next several weeks, at 4 p.m. Remember, they are outdoors. And if you become bored, you can just walk away or amuse yourself with a book.