Finding Minnesota: St. Cloud's Public Gardens Tell A Love Story
ST. CLOUD, Minn. (WCCO) – Two free public gardens along St. Cloud's riverfront are known for more than their flowers, tall trees and fountains.
The Munsinger Gardens started as a way to help the people of St. Cloud in hard times, but they later inspired a love story – and a second set of gardens.
As the nation tried to pull out of the Great Depression in the 1930s, St. Cloud's park superintendent, Joseph Munsinger, tapped into the federal Works Progress Administration, or WPA.
"What President Roosevelt did at the time was to start this WPA and send all these young men and women out there to start building parks," said Nia Primus, the current gardens supervisor.
The project they built on 14 acres along the Mississippi River has since grown into a towering canopy of tall pine trees with cottage-style gardens of hostas, azaleas, impatiens and other shade-loving plants thriving below.
Uphill from there are newer gardens that are sunnier and more formal -- gardens with a romantic backstory.
Wealthy businessman Bill Clemens and his wife, Virginia, lived across from the Munsinger Gardens and drew comfort from the view as she endured a long battle with multiple sclerosis.
They donated millions to create a seven-acre European style park adjacent to the existing one, so Virginia would have an even better view from her window.
"Oh, he is just the most generous man you would ever meet," Primus said. "He's just a sweetheart. He adored her and in order to, I guess, prove it to everybody, he built this beautiful place."
The Clemens gardens feature 1,000 roses, thousands of annual bedding plants and perennials, elaborate fountains and wrought iron fencing.
A life-size statue of Virginia Clemens depicts her in her wheelchair with her husband behind her, his hand on her shoulder. Rose was Virginia Clemens' middle name, so the statue faces the nearby rose garden.
The family also provided a $2 million endowment to cover annual maintenance costs.
"Giving that gift of love, the gift of the garden that the public gets to enjoy, his wife got to enjoy across the street for so many years, it's just amazing to me," said Primus. "He's an amazing man."
Virginia Clemens died in 1998, and her husband is now in declining health. But their legacy is on display in what are now known as the Munsinger/Clemens Gardens.
Workers are now in the process of planting 100,000 annuals, which they hope to finish by the Fourth of July.
They say the most colorful time to visit the gardens is usually the end of July, but they're open from late May to late September, and there is no admission fee.
