Lyndale Park is a
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
city park on the northeast side of
Lake Harriet. It is next to
Lakewood Cemetery
Lakewood Cemetery is a large private, non-sectarian cemetery located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is located at 3600 Hennepin Avenue at the southern end of the Uptown area. It is noted for its chapel which is on the National Re ...
, southeast of
Bde Maka Ska
Bde Maka Ska (, previously named Lake Calhoun, its former official designation) is the largest lake in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, and part of the city's Chain of Lakes. Surrounded by city park land and circled by bike and walking tra ...
. It is part of an enormous greenspace circling through Minneapolis called the
Grand Rounds Scenic Byway
The Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway is a linked series of park areas in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, that takes a roughly circular path through the city. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board developed the system over many years. ...
, and is one of the seven districts within, called the
Chain of Lakes. The other six districts within Grand Rounds are the Downtown Riverfront,
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
,
Minnehaha
Minnehaha is a Native American woman documented in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1855 epic poem ''The Song of Hiawatha''. She is the lover of the titular protagonist Hiawatha and comes to a tragic end. The name, often said to mean "laughing wat ...
,
Theodore Wirth
Theodore Wirth (1863–1949) was instrumental in designing the Minneapolis system of parks. Swiss-born, he was widely regarded as the dean of the local parks movement in America. The various titles he was given included administrator of p ...
,
Victory Memorial Parkway
Victory Memorial Parkway, or Victory Memorial Drive, is a section of the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway that lies between Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States and Robbinsdale, Minnesota, United States. The parkway runs along the northwestern and nort ...
, and Northeast. Managed by the
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) is an independent park district that owns, maintains, and programs activities in public parks in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It has 500 full-time and 1,300 part-time employees and an $ ...
, the parkway system has numerous parks and parkways, lakes (22 within the city limits), streams and creeks, the Mississippi River, and the high
Minnehaha Falls
Minnehaha Park is a city park in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, and home to Minnehaha Falls and the lower reaches of Minnehaha Creek. Officially named Minnehaha Regional Park, it is part of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board syst ...
. The park system is designed so that every home in Minneapolis is within six blocks of green space.
Lyndale Park is and contains four gardens; the Peace Garden, the Rose Garden, the Perennial Garden, and the Perennial Trial Garden. Immediately adjacent to the Peace Garden is the Thomas Sadler Roberts Bird Sanctuary.
Arboretum
The park's
arboretum
An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...
was conceived by
Theodore Wirth
Theodore Wirth (1863–1949) was instrumental in designing the Minneapolis system of parks. Swiss-born, he was widely regarded as the dean of the local parks movement in America. The various titles he was given included administrator of p ...
in 1907 and by 1915 the bulk of the collection had been planted. Many of the original plantings still survive. Major collections include
rose
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
s and
crabapple trees. Heritage trees, defined as the oldest or largest specimen found within the city limits, include the Cucumber Magnolia, River Birch, Golden Larch, Mugo Pine, White Fir, Austrian Pine, Japanese Yew, and Wafer Ash.
Rose Gardens
This is the second oldest public rose garden in the United States and was designed by the Park Superintendent Theodore Wirth. It is in size and at peak season the garden can contain as many as 60,000 blooms. Construction of the garden occurred during 1907-08. An official AARS (All America Rose Selections) test rose garden was added in 1946. The garden features more than 4000 plants and 250 species. Two fountains border the garden; the bronze-and-marble Heffelfinger Fountain is from the Villa Montalto near Florence, Italy and donated to the Park Board by Frank Heffelfinger in 1944. There is a cherub surfing on a dolphin at the top, surrounded by satyrs. Human faces on the pedestal base show the progress of age.
Perennial Garden and Perennial Trial Garden
This garden was built in 1962-63 when the Phelps (turtle) fountain was moved from the downtown Gateway to the east end of this garden. Two long perennial borders edge this garden and six annual beds are featured between these borders. Many wedding ceremonies are performed in this garden area located between the Phelps and Heffelfinger fountains.
The Perennial Trial Garden is a recent addition to the Lyndale Park, and features perennials that are tested over several seasons for hardiness, disease resistance and other features. Maintained by the volunteers from the Men's Garden Club of Minneapolis, this garden is a meandering border that begins near King's Highway and follows the wood line down towards the Peace Garden. This perennial trial garden is planted in the area once occupied by an elaborate perennial border that was first installed in 1925 and later abandoned in the 1960s.
Thomas Sadler Roberts Bird Sanctuary
Primarily a sanctuary for migratory songbirds in the spring, the warblers are the primary attraction. The Minnesota Audubon Society offers free tours every Tuesday at 9a during April and May. It is also a quiet and peaceful nature walk in the midst of the city. The main entrance to the sanctuary is in the Lyndale Park Gardens parking lot, and trails through that back of the Peace Garden. Named for
Thomas Sadler Roberts, M.D., D.Sc. (1858–1946), Founding Member of the Minneapolis Young Naturalists Society, and the
American Ornithologists' Union
The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its m ...
, and member of the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.
Lyndale Farmstead Park
Another park with a similar name, Lyndale Farmstead Park, is a separate park located between West 38th Street and West 40th Street on Bryant Avenue South. Lyndale Farmstead Park contains a recreation center and the
Theodore Wirth
Theodore Wirth (1863–1949) was instrumental in designing the Minneapolis system of parks. Swiss-born, he was widely regarded as the dean of the local parks movement in America. The various titles he was given included administrator of p ...
house,
Theodore Wirth House-Administration Building
Theodore may refer to:
Places
* Theodore, Alabama, United States
* Theodore, Australian Capital Territory
* Theodore, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Banana, Australia
* Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada
* Theodore Reservoir, a lake in Saska ...
. The house is on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
Image gallery Arboretum
Image:Lyndalefountain2.JPG, Phelps fountain
Image:Lyndalefountain3.jpg, Phelps fountain
Image:Lyndaleroses.jpg, roses
Image:Lyndalelandscaping1.jpg, some of the plantings
Image:Lyndalelandscaping2.jpg, some of the plantings
Image:Lyndalecrabapples.jpg, Crabapples in the autumn
North of the arboretum is the Peace Garden. In 1998 the rock garden was formally renamed the Lyndale Park Peace Garden.
{{cite document
, title = Lyndale Park - A Guide to the Peace Garden
, publisher = Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
, pages = 1–8
, year = 2006
Image gallery Peace Garden
Image:Peaceplaque.jpg, plaque
Image:Peacegarden1.jpg
Image:Peacegarden2.jpg
Image:Peaceengraving1.jpg, breathe truth dream beauty imagine justice
Image:Peaceengraving2.jpg, grieve honestly nurture nature remember humanity
Image:Peaceengraving3.jpg, accept fragility return love
See also
Biography of Dr. Thomas Sadler Roberts
External links
Lyndale Park GardensLyndale Farmstead Park
Parks in Minneapolis
Regional parks in Minnesota
Botanical gardens in Minnesota
Peace parks
Arboreta in Minnesota