Tour Emily's Gardens in West St Paul
Emily discovered her passion for native plants when a neighbor in Minneapolis pointed out a hummingbird hawk-moth (Macdroglossum stellatarum) in their wildlife habitat garden.
Emily and Michael Benson, along with their two young sons, moved to Minnesota seven years ago. A few years later they moved to their new home in West St Paul. The nearly one-acre lot near Dodge Nature Center was riddled with invasives, including buckthorn, crown vetch, bindweed and lawn weeds. It didn't take long for Emily to get started. She began to deal with invasives and created new gardens with a variety of native plants.
After the first few years of gardening with purchased plants, Emily learned about winter sowing and took full advantage. In the winter of 2023, she started 120 species in 150 jugs, the following winter added another 105 species in 120 plugs. Her gardens
now include prairie, woodland (newly established, including a spring 2025 installation) hedgerows and shrubs, pollinators, wildlife.
Emily said her interest is much more about creating habitat, not designing for the human eye. She wants to create a place where birds and insects are happy, getting what they need for a full life cycle. She is somewhat intentional in design, including cues to care that offer a more naturalized aesthetic. They are still working to remove invasives, future plans include adding a pond.
While the gardens are all Emily's, her husband Michael is a big help when it comes to moving mulch, and her sons enjoyed watching all the insects that visit their gardens. They maintain areas of lawn for pathways, soccer practice and other lawn activities.
Accessibility: Ample street parking. Nothing is super steep, some of the gardens are on a hill with stepping stones. Some may be challenged walking the path.
