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The Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway Association Kiosk at Breezy Point City Hall, with Breezy Point City Council member Diane Williams, left, and Master Gardener Wini Kristufek.
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There are 14 interpretive panel kiosks at 13 sites along the Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway.
In March, Byway board members Rod Nelson and Lynn Scharenbroich presented their kiosk landscaping wish list to the Crow Wing County Master Gardeners. Interested gardeners contacted the byway association and the exciting transformation from plain to pretty began.
The story at the Crow Wing County Road 1 and Old Grade Road interpretive panel kiosk is the retelling, in Paul Bunyan style, of course, of how railroad hauling supported the logging industry of the day.
So, imagine, then, a little train. Now, imagine it as part of a landscape design. And, finally imagine that design serving the dual purpose of pleasing the eye as well as illustrating that story.
This creative vision, spawned by Master Gardeners Rebecca Olson and Deb Monchamp, is springing to life at this location, surrounded by wild ginger, purple cone flower, cranesbill geranium, brown-eyed susans, bleeding hearts, columbine, pink mallow, spiderwort and monarda.
In Breezy Point, another clever mind is at work, focusing on a different interpretive panel kiosk.
Master Gardener Wini Kristufek with the help of Breezy Point City Council's Diane Williams, has shaped a keystone retaining wall, resembling Paul Bunyan's footprint, around the Byway kiosk at the east edge of the parking area by Breezy Point City Hall.
In a nod to Paul's faithful companion, Babe, the Blue Ox, she picked a blue color scheme, selecting "Elijah Blue" Fescue, miniature Russian Sage and the bluish-stemmed "Fire Witch" Dianthus. A splash of yellow is handled by day lilies.
All are deer resistant. The design also includes the official Breezy Point city tree, the 'Red Splendor' crabapple.
The Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway Association gratefully acknowledges in-kind donations toward this project from Lakeside Lawn and Landscape, Northern Lakes Nursery, Rebecca Olson and the city of Breezy Point.
For more information about the Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway and its projects, visit www.paulbunyanscenicbyway.org.
To learn more about the Master Gardener program, visit www.mg.umn.edu.
