FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Local and Luscious: SummerHouse Garden Market Opening Soon

            Chanhassen, Minn. (April 30, 2009) — The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum’s SummerHouse garden market will open for the season on Friday, May 15.  The summer market features locally grown produce, breads and baked goods and University of Minnesota bacon and brats, plus unique gifts, garden tools and gear—all in a festive, rustic setting combining elements of a farmer’s shed, garden center and gift shop.

The SummerHouse (open mid-May  through late August) shares a location with the Arboretum’s AppleHouse (open late-August through November 1), and offers visitors a chance to experience a rotating selection of the fresh produce and products from local farmers, as well as fruit, vegetable and plant introductions from the University of Minnesota Horticultural Research Center, which is located on the SummerHouse grounds.  

Open every day May 15 through late August from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., the Arboretum SummerHouse is located 1.5 miles west of the Arboretum entrance on State Highway 5 and Rolling Acres Road.  Daily updates on the SummerHouse’s featured selections of produce and plants will be available via a recorded message on the SummerHouse Hotline: (952) 443-1409.  All Arboretum members receive a 10-percent discount.

New this year is the Summerhouse’s involvement in the Community Supported Agriculture program (CSA).  Through a team effort involving the Arboretum, Riverbend Farm in Delano and Loon Organics of Hutchinson, you can purchase a share and pick up your box of produce every week. 

The Arboretum has a long, vibrant history of supporting the state’s agricultural industry. Its Horticultural Research Center (HRC) has generated more than 90 plant introductions over the past 99 years, from disease-resistant azaleas and dogwoods to the cold-hardy Marquette wine grape to its most famous apple introductions, the Haralson and the Honeycrisp. Much of the revenue the SummerHouse generates will be invested back into research and inspiring new plant introductions that continue to cultivate the local horticultural industry.

The Arboretum is a member of the Heartland Food Network, which encourages the purchasing of local, sustainable or organic foods from Minnesota’s farmers and producers. Along with other members of the Network, the Arboretum actively participates in Third Thursdays, a monthly celebration of locally grown foods. On the third Thursday of each month, member restaurants prepare special, seasonal dishes that give diners a taste of what local foods have to offer.

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