Surviving a snow-free, dark winter with beautiful blooms

This time of year, we can usually count on snow to beautify our landscape and lure us out into nature. It’s the payoff for living in Minnesota and surviving our cold winters. That’s especially true when a winter has been as dull and dark as this one.

At the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, winter typically means cutting a path on snowshoes, cross-country skiing on groomed trails, and hiking along shoveled paths amid snow-covered rolling hills, trees, and gardens tucked quietly away for the winter.

Certainly, we’re all still hoping for enough snow to make those winter snowshoeing and skiing dreams come true. The snowshoes stand all ready to rent.

But in the meantime, the Arboretum thankfully offers a host of January activities to get us outside and fill the dark days of winter with art, plants and a focus on wellness.

First up is an event focused on nurturing the spirit that can help people fulfill their New Year’s resolutions to achieve fitter bodies and calmer minds. The Winter Wellness Fair on Jan. 11 will help visitors find nourishment for the mind, body and soul.

The event features yoga and meditation classes and workshops. There’s also a Wellness Market with offerings from local vendors focusing on food, wellness and self-care products and services. New this year, there’s an on-site sauna and cold plunge from Hamel Nordic Sauna. The ticketed event runs from 9 to 5 p.m.

Just as the show always goes on, so too will the Arboretum’s Full Wolf Moon Snowshoe Hike, snow or not. Visitors will trek across the Arboretum grounds under the first full moon of 2025, which is known as the “wolf moon” because it’s believed wolves are more likely to be heard howling this time of year. The Wildlife Science Center will do a presentation about wolves. With our short days and long nights this time of year, seeing the full moon doesn’t require a late night; hiking from 5 to 8 p.m. is plenty of time to howl under the moon yourself.

If you’re trying to avoid the cold or looking for color and inspiration to create art of your own, the Arboretum offers an array of shows that celebrate nature. Among the mix is “Eyes Wide Open” by artists Tracy Walsh and Lynelle Kocher. It invites viewers to bathe their eyes in the vibrant colors and textures of plants in paint and macro photography. 

In “Unraveling: A Fiber Art Exploration of Our Natural World,” artist Deborah Foutch uses fabric and fiber to explore the soil systems and roots that keep plants alive and intertwined to sustain life. A special ticketed artist meet-and-greet opening reception on Jan. 18 will feature a panel on soil health from the perspective of artists, scientists and cultural representatives.

To round things off, here’s one helpful tip from a new Arboretum staff member: There’s no better time of year than winter to seek out the Meyer-Deats Conservatory.

Down the hall from the main building of the Oswald Visitor Center, you’ll find this hidden gem tucked away inside the Snyder Building, a showplace of its own designed by Minnesota architect Edwin Lundie.

Behind a door that says, “Conservatory Open, Please Come In,” the warm, humid greenhouses offer instant warmth in sharp contrast to the cold outdoors. It’s glorious to see blooming flowers and smell the earthy musk that signifies things are growing and blossoming – in the middle of January. 

For those of us who love winter and are longing for snow, and also yearning to get our gardens growing, the Arboretum’s Conservatory offers a welcome reminder that these seasons can co-exist beautifully. And that spring will always come.

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Editor’s note: Lynette Kalsnes is the public relations strategist at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska. She is a master gardener intern in training who cannot wait to get her hands in the dirt outside.

Kalsnes’ column on happenings at the Arboretum will appear periodically on the Eden Prairie Local News website. Contact her at arbpr@umn.edu.