Upcoming Events

Gardening

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

Homes, apartment buildings and businesses with exceptional plantings of flowers, shrubs and trees that are visible to passersby 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 via e-mail at 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. Fertilizer on hard surfaces is carried by rainwater down storm sewer drains and ends of up in St. Louis Park ponds and Minneapolis lakes. Once it reaches ponds and lakes, fertilizer causes excessive algae growth and scum. 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 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 online, click here.

Mowing
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. 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 or plant shrubs on 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 city 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.

Clean out catch basin grates
If your home is next to a catch basin (the opening on curbs), 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 soil absorbs water more quickly and minimizes 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. 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:
Reuse Centers Hennepin County Dakota County

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