In the garden, Landsberger made room for an homage to his beloved neighborhood, including a bench made of materials salvaged from the old Schmidt Brewery. The garden is a sanctuary of green, encompassing more than 100 trees, shrubs and ground covers, including rare varieties such as a star-shaped Armandii Snowdrift Clematis (the earliest bloom of the year), a wispy Chinese flowering chestnut and a large, magnolia-like calycanthus.
Known as the Leech Street Garden, the garden is Zen-inspired, with an 18-foot-wide red Japanese gate, called a torii, traditionally used to mark the entrance from the ordinary to the sacred space in a Shinto shrine. During that time, Landsberger, a self-taught gardener, worked on the yard, creating an extensive landscape worthy of a garden tour stop. For several years, he rented out the house. In 2010, Landsberger purchased the adjacent lot. Now, they're getting ready for their next chapter: moving to the house next door after just completing an extensive renovation there. Paul home Landsberger has owned for 40 years. The two met more than 25 years ago when Landsberger was walking his dog across the High Bridge and the two crossed paths.įor more than a decade, they've lived in the St. Shimer, who co-owned Gallery on Grand and Gallery on West Seventh in the early '90s, is the lead curator, while Landsberger, a retired web developer and educational/historical research writer, is the main gardener. In the home and garden he shares with partner Steve Shimer, it's clear that Landsberger lives the philosophy of connection - to nature and art. "So we thought a garden tour is something we could do to introduce people to the beauty of the neighborhood and the river and the connection to history." "In the '70s, they were going to bulldoze Irvine Park and the neighbors banded together and said no and started redoing their houses, and that has spread throughout the neighborhood. "It was basically developed because West 7th kind of had a bad rap," Landsberger said.
Paul and Fort Snelling, has been a way to educate others about the neighborhood. The tour, which spotlights residential gardens between downtown St. For more than a decade, the name Joe Landsberger has been synonymous with the West End Neighbors Garden Tour.Īs founder of the fundraising tour that has drawn hundreds each year, Landsberger has been a staunch advocate of what is one of Minnesota's oldest neighborhoods.