Construction begins this month on new paths, garden beds and hose connection for watering.
The Upper Bluff portion of Swede Hollow Park at 665 Greenbrier St was once the site of the grand Hamm family mansion. In today’s park, you can see brick and stone pillar left from the old house and fascinating architectural remnants from the old foundations where private utilities came to the house from the nearby Hamm’s Brewery.
As part of the Swede Hollow Park Plan laid out by community and approved by the City in 2019, site of the old house is getting an enhanced Woodland Garden with ADA accessible aggregate paths planted on either side by native and hardy woodland plants. Several non-native Siberian Elm trees will come down to open up the forest understory and make way for the increased accessibility. A new hose connection will allow volunteers to make sure the new gardens get well established in the coming years. Woodland mix natural lawn seed will replace the turf on the bluff side of the garden. Future plans call for historic and botanic interpretation of the garden and public art to mark the garden entrances.
For now this major enhancement will become a quiet, shady retreat to enjoy nature and for students from nearby Metropolitan State University and Hope Community Academy to learn about native woodland plants.
Funding for the project comes from the Hardenbergh Foundation, McNeely Foundation, Saint Paul Garden Club and a grant for native plants from the Capital Region Watershed District.