[Today we have a story – a bit of news – rather than a traditional devotional. Although, there is plenty of "devotion" in this story about some work going on about the grounds of Roseville Lutheran Church! Thanks to KJ Bach for sharing this and for all the volunteers for your work and care!]

Renovating Rain Gardens...
Our Plan or God’s Plan?

Background: 

The ‘Lively Landscapers’ is a small team of RLC members who saw the need to cleanup/renovate the various garden plots and landscaping on the RLC campus. The current landscape plantings were installed as a part of the 1996 Worship Center Building project.  The gardens are well overdue a renovation!  If you have a desire to ‘get dirty’, spend time outside and make a difference in developing a welcoming exterior to our church home, please join the Lively Landscapers by contacting Julie Hanson ( ) or KJ Bach ( ) for more information. Your commitment is to adopt-a-plot for ONE YEAR, with signing up again (or not) in future years.

In 2009, Roselawn Ave (along the south border of RLC property) was reconstructed with Rain Gardens installed along the boulevard.  RLC agreed to have 3 rain gardens installed alongside the entrances to the south parking lot.  What is a rain garden, you ask?  Rain Gardens are a ‘holding pond’ of rain water runoff from ‘hardscape’ surfaces, such as buildings, driveways, parking lots, and streets vs allowing rain runoff to go into the storm sewer system.  Keeping water out of the storm sewers helps maintain cleaner water in our streams and lakes.  RLC’s 3 rain gardens have ‘curb cuts’ in the curbs along Roselawn to allow for the street water to enter into the rain gardens.  Unfortunately, a lot of sediment, leaves, & yard waste also comes along with the rain water.  (This is a good reason to keep your own street gutter clean!).

As the Lively Landscapers began to look at the rain gardens last fall and again this spring, it was quite evident that there was a lot of work to do to get the rain gardens back into ‘working condition’.  Rich and Julie Wendland graciously adopted the rain gardens.  With the help of Greg Saiko, RLC Custodian, the overgrown dogwoods were trimmed back to eliminate a traffic hazard as drivers coming out of the south parking lot could not see around the dogwoods for traffic along Roselawn. Rich cleaned out the curbcuts to allow rain runoff to now enter the rain garden basin. Thus began the RLC Rain Garden Renovation!

Renovation Ideas:

On May 20, 2020, the Wendlands were working in the rain gardens, when a pickup truck pulled up, 2 people jumped out and walked into the rain garden.  The 2 young people were from ‘Outdoor Lab’, a company contracted by the City of Roseville to maintain/renovate the Rain Gardens that the City had installed over the years.  WOW!!  Could this be an answer to prayer in providing funding for new plantings and mulch for the rain gardens?  Could they help us with what plants to put in a rain garden?  KJ Bach had contacted Ryan Johnson, City of Roseville, about funding for renovating these rain gardens. Ryan didn’t have any funding available for us. He did give us a bit of advice on plantings.  KJ then contacted the Capitol Region Watershed District for assistance with plantings and/or funding for the rain gardens. After meeting with Rachel and Joe from the Watershed Distrcit we again got advice on plantings, but ‘No’ to any available funding.  Lively Landscapers had also met with Mick Johnson of Johnson Creek Landscaping, (an RLC member) the end of May. Mick was instrumental in designing the current landscaping back in 1996. He graciously gave us more advice on plantings around the campus.

The Wendlands continued to periodically work on cleaning out the Rain Gardens of weeds & sediment, hoping to find some remnants of rain garden plantings from 2009.  The neighbors across Roselawn from the rain gardens would come and chat with the Wendlands encouraging them by saying it was nice to see someone tending to the RLC landscape once again. With limited funding and volunteer hours, the rain gardens were slowly getting back to working condition.

On June 10th, Greg Saiko, with chainsaw in hand, cut down all of the overgrown dogwood and volunteer ash and maple trees out of the far SE rain garden. What a great site to now see the large rock that sits at that entrance.  Much of the yard waste produced by the Lively Landscapers cleanup has been removed from the RLC Campus either by KJ Bach and her little pickup truck, or by the adopter who takes home the yard waste to their own yard waste container. 

OUR Plan... or God’s Plan:

Then....A miracle happened on Friday June 12!!  Julie Wendland was removing a plant from the rain garden that the Capital Region Watershed District folks had confirmed was a weed when she heard someone say, “do you remember me?” It was Nikki from Outdoor Lab. She said that they were there to redo the 2 Rain Gardens at the main entrance and that they planned to get it done that afternoon!! How could this be that labor AND plantings could just drive up and swoop in to get the Rain Gardens back to working condition?  And....What a blessing to have it done just before RLC’s first drive-in worship in two days! Outdoor Lab had come with mulch and plants to be put into the raingarden! Nikki thought that communications had been passed on to us that they were coming. Julie let them know that their timing was impeccably perfect and that the Lively Landscapers, RLC members AND the neighbors would be so excited to see the change. Little did Julie & Rich know that they had a 3rd partner in adopting the rain gardens.... GOD!  God’s plan was certainly a more comprehensive than what the Lively Landscapers could have imagined!  Thanks much to the City of Roseville and Outdoor Lab for their labor, funding, and plantings to renovate the RLC rain gardens!

Food for Como Zoo:

Back to the Rain Garden renovation.... Outdoor Lab cleared the sod layer that had crept into the rain gardens, placed lots and lots of mulch into the rain gardens working around the remaining rain garden plants that needed to be kept. They then also added some additional new plants.  It was decided to cut back the dogwoods even more. KJ Bach, with her little truck, hauled away the branches to the Midway Compost site. Upon arriving at the Compost Site, 3 young gals were loading up a City of St Paul pickup with branches that others had dropped off.  KJ learned they were picking up branches for the Como Zoo Giraffes and Gorillas!! So a transfer from KJ’s truck to the City of St Paul truck sent RLC’s dogwoods to feed Como Zoo animals! What a partner GOD is in even the simple work of maintaining ALL his creation! Saturday afternoon, Wendlands returned to water all of the new plantings. One of the neighbors walked past noting that it was looking really nice and the site lines to the church were greatly improved.

A Little Funding Goes A LONG WAY:

You may also notice the garden on the corner of Roselawn & Fernwood has gotten a makeover and a new large pot with annuals planted.  Thanks to a Thrivent Action Team Grant and Martha Mutch (with the help of Chris Ploetz) in renovating that garden plot!

The Lively Landscapers have plenty of work for others to join in on giving the RLC Campus a welcoming and joyous exterior. Curb appeal is certainly a piece of the information people use when church shopping. We also owe it to our neighbors and the wider community to maintain our church property.... GOD’s CREATION... for the enjoyment of those who worship here, attend meetings here, or just those passing through our parking lots!

Thank You!

Many thanks to the 2020 Lively Landscapers: Julie & Tim Hanson, Rich & Julie Wendland, KJ Bach, Joanne Otis, Dave Risinger, Dave Werner, and Martha Mutch.