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Quick Fact

92% of residents believe that the city is on track with resident’s environmental concerns
--2008 Residential Survey

Upcoming Events

Events in the Park

2/28 Home Remodeling Fair

4/8 Raingarden Workshops

5/19 Greening the Heartland

NextStep Events Calendar

Sustainability Events Calendar

Gardening

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Win a Landscaping Award!
Nominations due August 1st of each year. Evergreen Award Nomination Form

Homes, apartment buildings and businesses located in St. Louis Park with exceptional plantings of flowers, shrubs and trees that are highly visible are eligible for the Evergreen Award. A certificate of recognition, publicity on the city's website and a green plant are presented to winners by the City Council each autumn.

For more information, contact Environmental Coordinator Jim Vaughan at (952) 924-2699 or jvaughan@stlouispark.org

Click on the links below to view award winner presentations:

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Fertilizing
Keep Fertilizer from Reaching Ponds and Lakes
If you're fertilizing your lawn, please make sure to keep fertilizer off sidewalks, driveways and all other hard surfaces. Minnesota law prohibits the release of fertilizer on impervious surfaces such as sidewalks, driveways or the street. To learn more about what you can do, click here.

Don't Fertilize Unnecessarily
Have your soil tested once every five years to determine whether you need to fertilize. The University of Minnesota sells soil sample test kits for $15.00. For more information, call (612) 374-8400 or click here. The Minnesota Extension Service recommends fertilizing lawns no more than three times a year: mid-May, early September and mid-October.

Choose a Lawn Fertilizer without Phosphorous
To protect water quality, Minnesota State law prohibits the use of phosphorus fertilizers on lawns and turf in the seven county Twin Cities metropolitan area.

Most soil in St. Louis Park has ample amounts of phosphorus and does not need additional amounts. However, there are exceptions to the law. Phosphorus-containing fertilizer can be applied to residential lawns if

A soil test indicates insufficient phosphorus or
This is the first growing season for new seed or sod.

When phosphorous from fertilizers when it makes its way into ponds and lakes, it causes excessive algae growth and scum. Make sure the middle number on the fertilizer package (which indicates the amount of phosphorus) is zero. Commercial lawn care services will also provide fertilizers without phosphorus upon request.

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Lawn Care and Landscaping
Call Before you Dig
Breaking a buried utility line can be costly and even life-threatening. Before you dig a hole, call Gopher State One Call at (651) 454-0002. They will contact utilities to mark the location of buried electricity, gas and utility lines in your yard. This is a free service, and utilities will be marked within 48 hours (excluding weekends and holidays). For more information, click here.

Mowing
City of St. Louis Park Noise Ordinance restricts noise between certain hours of the day. Lawn mowers, leaf blowers and hedge clippers and other power equipment CANNOT be operated

before 7 a.m. on weekdays
before 9 a.m. on weekends.

Weeds and grass must be trimmed. If they grow higher than six inches, the City of St. Louis Park can have them cut at the property owner's expense to comply with City of St. Louis Park Vegetation Ordinance. If you have a complaint about uncut grass or weeds, call (952) 924-2562 or e-mail jvaughan@stlouispark.org.

Pay Attention to the Public Right-of-Way
The strip of land along the curb (typically six ft. deep) is reserved for public use (i.e. sidewalks, snow pushed by plows, etc.). Do not install fences, underground irrigation lines, or plant shrubs in the public-right-of way.

Don't Rake Leaves and Grass Clippings onto the Street
Raking leaves and grass clippings onto the streets is a violation of the City of St. Louis Park Erosion Control Ordinance. If you employ a lawn service, make sure they keep leaves and grass clippings off the street as well.

When rainwater carries leaves and grass clippings down streets and into lakes and ponds, they harm water quality. When leaves and grass decay, they release phosphorus which results in excess algae growth and scum. Leaves and grass clippings do more damage to our lakes than fertilizers, pesticides and motor oil!

Properly dispose of leaves and grass clippings by composting or use the City garbage hauler. For more information, contact Public Works at (952) 924-2555 or pworks@stlouispark.org. sewer

Clean Out Catch Basin Grates
If your home is next to a catch basin (the grate covering the opening on a curb), remove leaves clogging the catch basin opening so water doesn't pool up and create slippery spots.

Never Dump Leftover Pesticides or Chemicals onto the Sidewalk, Driveway or Street, or Down the Storm Sewer

Rainwater will carry these chemicals - directly and untreated - into area ponds and lakes where they harm water quality.

Aerate your Lawn
It removes plugs of grass, loosens the soil and promotes healthy root development. Aerated lawns absorb water more quickly and minimize run-off.

Use Weed Killers and Pesticides Sparingly
Apply them only to the trouble spot - not the entire lawn. Click here for more information on sustainable landscaping.

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Rain Barrels
Do you realize the roof of your home is a large impervious surface? Like your driveway or the street, rain water runs right off and into the storm sewer for the City of St. Louis Park. Instead of going down the drain, this water could be recycled and used for your landscaping.

Rain barrels control storm water runoff and hold 8% of the runoff from your roof and 3 percent of the runoff from your entire residential property. For more information about the types and uses of rain barrels in the metro area, go to Metrowide rain barrel info packet

Available at the following locations:

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Rain Garden Education Workshops
Minnehaha Creek Watershed District and the City of St. Louis Park are sponsoring a Rain Garden Education Workshop. The workshops (Part A and Part B) will be taught and facilitated by Metro Blooms with local landscape ecologist Rusty Schmidt.

Part A Workshop
The rain garden workshop (Part A) gives property owners all the information they need to install a rain garden, redirect downspouts and select native perennials that don't require fertilizers or pesticides, and whose long roots help draw the water deep into the soil.

Thursday, April 8 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The Rec Center Banquet Room, 3700 Monterey Drive
$10 per person

Part B Workshop
The next step to the Part A workshop, this two-hour small group workshop will focus on the plans you developed from the Part A workshop. You will receive personalized advice from Metro Blooms Landscape Design Assistants and Hennepin County Master Gardeners who are trained in landscape architecture, rain garden design and horticulture.

Saturday, May 1 from 10 a.m. - Noon
The Rec Center Banquet Room, 3700 Monterey Drive
$10 per person

Registrations for the workshops will begin on February 1. Click here to register online or call (651) 699-2426.

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An alternative for capturing larger amounts of rainwater is the Bushman Rainwater Harvesting Tank System which is larger than a typical rain barrel. Click here for more information.

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Quick Fact

Upcoming Events

Gardening