Sorensen Neighborhood

Evergreen Winner Has “Gardener Angel”

Feb 24, 2007

Sorensen residents Lauren and Greg Behl, 5917 Minnetonka Blvd., were honored in September for adding beauty to the neighborhood with their home?’s landscaping. The Evergreen Award they received from the St. Louis Park City Council was a surprise; they don?’t know who nominated them, although they suspect a neighbor.

?“I?’m not a skilled gardener, but I think I have an eye for design and color and I like to keep the landscape natural to the lot,?” said Lauren, who began updating her large yard following a home expansion project in 1995.

Lauren has tackled the landscaping in stages, doing almost everything herself. An old driveway was filled in with dirt and perennial flower beds have been added on all sides of the house. Lauren feels the work is ?“about two-thirds done?” as she continues to replace grass with gardens. Coming up soon: landscaping the hill that wraps around the southwest corner of the lot.

?“This house has been in our family since 1920, starting with my grandparents, Ray and Ethel Mosher,?” Lauren said. ?“My mother, Jean Martin, was born here and we bought it in 1980 when my daughter was born. It was hard for me to change things, but my grandfather was a gardener and I kind of feel like he?’s been an angel gardener on my shoulder.?”