The grounds at Friendship Village of Bloomington, Minnesota, begin telling a story long before anyone steps inside. Throughout the 24-acre campus, residents and visitors are surrounded by beautifully maintained gardens, welcoming entrances and tree-lined walking paths that create an immediate sense of warmth and care.
“This is our garden. This is our home,” says resident Kaye Benson, who leads the community’s Landscape Volunteer Committee. “People take a lot of pride in caring for it.”
That pride is evident in every flower bed, seasonal planting and carefully landscaped space across campus. While visitors may first notice the beauty, what they are really seeing is the result of a unique partnership between Friendship Village’s dedicated groundskeeping team and residents who have embraced the landscape as an extension of their own backyard.
For many residents, that connection begins with a lifelong love of gardening.
“When people move here, they’re often leaving behind homes and gardens they’ve cared for over many years,” Benson says. “Friendship Village gives them the opportunity to keep digging in the dirt, caring for plants and adopting a garden of their own. It’s not just about planting flowers. It’s about helping people stay connected to something that’s been an important part of their lives.”
That shared sense of ownership is what makes the grounds at Friendship Village so distinctive. While Executive Grounds Manager Charlie Rhein and his team care for the campus year-round, residents work alongside them, helping tend to seasonal plantings and contributing ideas that continue to shape the exterior landscape.
“The residents don’t see these as someone else’s gardens,” Charlie says. “This is their backyard now.”
That collaborative spirit begins months before spring arrives. Planning for each growing season starts in January, when Rhein, the Landscape Committee and resident volunteers gather to discuss planting themes, select flowers and prepare every garden across campus. Soil is tested, compost is added where needed, irrigation systems are inspected and hundreds of plants are coordinated for delivery before the first signs of spring emerge.
For Charlie, maintaining the grounds has always been about much more than landscaping.
“We’re taking care of 24 acres that our residents get to call home,” he says.
That perspective shapes every decision throughout the year. Charlie and his team bring the expertise, equipment and long-term planning that allow the campus to flourish, while resident volunteers spend the season caring for the gardens they’ve adopted by weeding, watering and nurturing each space. Together, they create an environment that feels like a neighborhood where everyone has a hand in making it beautiful.
When visitors admire the vibrant gardens and thoughtfully maintained grounds, they are seeing far more than carefully planned landscaping. They are witnessing a community where residents continue to invest their time, talents and passions alongside a team that shares their commitment to creating a place people are proud to call home.
The flowers may be what first catch your eye, but the people who care for them are what make Friendship Village truly bloom.
Interested in seeing the gardens for yourself? Schedule a visit to Friendship Village of Bloomington.
