MINNEAPOLIS — Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis is more than just a place where people honor their loved ones; it's also known for its beautiful landscaping.
Groundskeepers are doing work now to make sure ten of thousands of tulips are ready to bloom come spring.
Paul Aarestad, Director of Buildings and Grounds, and hopes the brightly colored display will welcome in the public.
Around 49,000 tulips are expected to bloom to help marke the 150 year anniversary of Lakewood.
You may not think of taking a stroll through a cemetery, but Lakewood has nine miles roadway and 250 acres to walk and plenty of beautiful landscape to appreciate.
Aarestad thinks of the cemetery almost like an enormous public park, an outdoor space to be treasured within the city of Minneapolis. He welcomes everyone to come check it out.
His technique for planting tulips:
- Till the soil well
- No need to amend the soil. Tulips will grow in almost any conditions.
- Use a dibble (pointed object) to create a hole for the bulb
- Plant the bulb pointy side up
- Plant densely with 6-7 bulbs per square foot.
Aarestad says one of the biggest mistakes gardeners make when planting tulips is spacing them out. A small, dense planting has a far greater impact and effect than bulbs dotted across a wider area.
As an added bonus: Paul says the dense planting helps with squirrels too!