Yards and Landscaping – East Metro Water

Fields of flowers beckon birds and butterflies

By: angiehongmn June 26, 2026June 24, 2026

Yards and Landscapingart, featured, hiking, native plants, prairieLeave a Comment

Prairies once covered one-third of North America and one-third of the land that is now called Minnesota. Rivaling the African savanna, this sea of grass stretched from Saskatchewan to Texas and was home to deer, elk, antelope, prairie dogs, and an estimated 30-60 million bison. For 12,000 years, humans have been part of the prairie as well. Though only 1-4% of the original native prairie remains today, helping hands are spreading seeds and pulling weeds. Piece by piece, the prairie is rising.

Lazy gardener’s guide to spring

By: angiehongmn April 10, 2026April 8, 2026

Yards and Landscapingfeatured, gardening, lawn care, springLeave a Comment

If I could give you one word of advice to guide your yard care activities during the month of April, it would be “wait.”

Rebuilding lost habitat connections, one yard at a time

By: angiehongmn March 30, 2026

Yards and Landscapingenvironment, featured, gardening, Homegrown National Park, native plants, nature, pollinators, Washington Conservation DistrictLeave a Comment

More than 47,000 people have joined the “Homegrown National Park” in its first five years and these regular everyday Americans have collectively restored 170,000 acres of native habitat.

Here in Washington County, Minnesota, we’ve observed similar enthusiasm over the past twenty years as native landscaping has grown in popularity.

These are a few of my favorite things

By: angiehongmn March 11, 2026March 12, 2026

Yards and Landscapingfeatured, gardening, landscaping, native plants, spring, treesLeave a Comment

If spring naturally has you dreaming of flowers and gardens, I’d like to encourage you to enhance your vision a bit this year to include native flowers, shrubs, and trees that can help to provide habitat for birds and wildlife and protect our water resources. March is the perfect time to begin planning, and there are numerous resources available to help you get started.

Live, love, laser loon

By: angiehongmn February 23, 2026

Uncategorized, Wildlife, Yards and Landscapingbirding, birds, featured, lakes, lakeshore, lead-free, loons, Minnesota, nature, photography, shoreline landscaping, travelLeave a Comment

2026 = Lead out, natural shorelines in!

Learn about Minnesota’s strange but beloved loon.

How a billboard helped to transform weeds into prairie

By: angiehongmn November 21, 2025November 20, 2025

Yards and Landscapingfeatured, habitat restoration, Indigenous people, invasive species, native plants, prairie, round leaf bittersweetLeave a Comment

Round leaf bittersweet is an invasive woody vine, native to China, Korea, and Japan, that was introduced to North America in the mid-1860s as an ornamental shrub. The vines girdle and smother trees and out-compete our indigenous American bittersweet, making it a formidable foe in our Minnesota woodlands. In an attempt to eradicate bittersweet from their soon-to-be prairie, Wendy and Mark tried killing it off with a low-heat fire, digging up the roots, and smothering it with a large blue tarp. All efforts proved unsuccessful until now.

Fall yard & garden – no it’s not too late to plant!

By: angiehongmn October 3, 2025

Yards and Landscapingfall, featured, gardening, leaves, native plantsLeave a Comment

In the coming weeks, there are several steps you can take to prep your yard and gardens for winter and continue to support pollinators, birds and other wildlife. But, you might be surprised to learn that fall is also a really great time to plant a native garden!

Meet our 2025 Natural Shoreline Award winners!

We are excited to announce the winners of our inaugural Natural Shoreline Awards, sponsored by the East Metro Water Resource Education Program and Lower St. Croix Watershed Partnership. These awards recognize Minnesotans who are protecting lake, stream, and wetland habitat in Chisago, Isanti, Ramsey and Washington Counties.

Submit a nomination for 2025 Natural Shoreline Awards

The Natural Shoreline Award Program recognizes beautiful lakeshore, riverfront and streamside properties that incorporate native flowers, shrubs, trees and plants. Award-winning properties can be located in Chisago, Isanti, Ramsey or Washington Counties.

2025 Program Timeline:
– July 1 – August 7: Call for nominations
– August 7 – 31: Program judges will tour and evaluate shorelines
– September 9: Award recipients are announced

Learn more and submit your nominations.