Discovering The Mature Lifestyle
Fridley Horseshoe Club has a long history. Page 3
Summer Fun
June 16 & 17, 2016
June Issue
Award-winning New Hope gardeners share their stories BY SUE WEBBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
gardeners? “Don’t start out too big and plant a garden you can’t take care of,” Tangen said. “A small, well-kept garden is better than a big garden.”
Gardening is a popular summer activity for many people, for many reasons. Some grew up on farms or had parents who gardened. Others find digging in the dirt is a good way to express their creativity, or to alleviate stress. In New Hope, a citywide program encourages and recognizes gardeners for their efforts with RAVE awards. The city’s Residential Property Recognition Program, which began in 2006, was changed to the RAVE program in 2009 and now is coordinated by Aaron Chirpich, New Hope’s Community Development specialist. Anyone can nominate a residential property for the award. In 2015, two former winners and a member of the Citizen’s Advisory Commission served as judges.
Flowers and tomatoes Marlene and Arnie Tangen both grew up on farms in Wadena County, and were used to gardening. Arnie lived near Detroit Lakes and Frazee; Marlene grew up near Menagha and Park Rapids. The couple has continued to use their green thumbs at the New Hope home where they’ve lived for 48 years. They have three children, eight grandchildren and are expecting a great-granddaughter in June. “We’ve been doing the gardening together for 20 years,” said Marlene, who retired 15 years ago from her job as a
Gardener did library research
Marlene and Arnie Tangen have gardened together at their New Hope home for 48 years. (Submitted photo by Jerry Beck) Robbinsdale District 281 schools cook. Arnie, who did sheet rocking, spraying and taping before he retired, does most of the weeding in the garden, Marlene said. “He’s out there at 6:30 a.m.,” she said. “He doesn’t like to use weed killer. He digs dandelions out by hand.” Arnie’s specialty is tomatoes, she said. “He babies those things,” Marlene said. “He has them in the house under grow lights at night. Eventually they get to be 10 feet tall. We can some and give some away.”
Marlene’s specialty is flowers. “I do all kinds, petunias, marigolds and zinnias,” she said. “I buy whatever I see that I like. I take after my mom. She loved the outside.” A reward for the Tangens’ hard work came in 2014, when they received a RAVE award from the city of New Hope. “We were nominated by people we didn’t even know who had walked by the house,” Marlene said. What advice would she give to novice
Catherine Navalta won a RAVE award in 2013 for her garden. A native of the Philippines, she said she went to the Rockford Road Library to research the best plants for the Midwest after moving to the United States in 1990 and to New Hope in 1991. “It took three years before I started gardening,” Navalta said. “The area I started first was a small garden by the window,” said Navalta, who was working full-time as a nurse at HCMC then and had four small children. She retired in 2013 and now has two grandchildren. “I started with hosta; it’s easy to grow,” Navalta said. Then she branched out to phlox, and spring bulbs (tulips and daffodils). “My favorite plants are phlox; I love day lilies, too,” she said. “To make them more healthy, you have to divide them. I go out every morning to check on my plants.” She still goes to the library sometimes to read about planting in the Midwest. “I bought an encyclopedia of plants and memorized the names, how to grow them and what kind of soil they needed,” Navalta said. Asked about her adGARDENING - TO PAGE 3