Alex Junge tugs at a Creeping Charlie plant growing on the side of his garden plot overlooking Interstate 94 in St. Paul's Merriam Park. The fast-growing weed isn't native to Minnesota, Junge explains, but it's been here for centuries. Beer-drinking European explorers likely brought the invasive pest as a fining agent in the mid-to-late 1600s, before hops became widely used.
“The plant was actually introduced to Minnesota by the Saxons,” Junge says philosophically about his relationship with the hard-to-love plant. “The key is to manage it, not eliminate it.”
With something resembling boyish enthusiasm, Junge, 37, walks through Merriam Station Community Garden, pointing out his more delicious-looking neighbors: a budding peach tree, a plum tree soon to follow, an apple tree down the hill. There's a tall white oak that's as old as the state itself, and another a short walk west. One plot of his edible garden is growing peppers, tomatoes, and maybe someday grapes (with a couple more years of effort), while the second is teeming with all sorts of native wildflowers: honeyberries, wild bergamot, cup plants, prairie dogs, pale Indian plantains, cornflowers, and even Maximillian sunflowers that may one day grow as tall as him or taller.
The rumble of Interstate 94 downhill across the Gilbert Street frontage road doesn't bother him as much as the railroad tracks on Pryor Street to the east. Junge, who grew up in Highland Park, is far more attuned to the sounds of progress, with or without hearing aids. That's evident in the buzzing of three artificial hives that attract hundreds, maybe thousands, of bees, the work of a fellow aspiring gardener-turned-beekeeper. Junge wouldn't dare stand nearby, but even from a few yards away, the swarms are a sight to behold.
Alex Junge examines milkweed plants in his plot at Merriam Station Community Garden in St. Paul on Thursday, June 20, 2024. For Junge, the garden has become like a second home. Junge has Asperger syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder, and a caregiver in high school introduced him to the rich world of plants. At the time, not everyone was emotionally tolerant of Junge's autism. (John Auty / Pioneer Press)
Progress is also being made on a 75-foot-long, 30-foot-wide plastic sheeting secured by bricks along the hillside. It will take a year to kill the grass underneath, along with some more weeding and plowing to prepare the soil for planting local wildflowers. Junge, the leader of the effort, said he can't wait to get involved.
Gardening Through Difficult Times
Founded 12 years ago by dedicated volunteers on and around a sloping bank overlooking a deep interstate ditch, Merriam Station has grown into one of the largest community gardens in St. Paul, with 100 plots and nearly 200 members dedicated to organic, environmentally conscious gardening.
For Junge, it's also a second home. A caregiver from his high school days introduced him to the rich world of plants. At the time, not everyone was emotionally open to Junge's autism. Junge, who has Asperger's syndrome, has used his gardening skills to green the backyard of the small group home on St. Paul's east side, where he has lived for the past 13 years.
Gardening helped him get through difficult times, like last year when his roommate, whom he called only Casey, died of cancer.
Community gardens also benefit others.
At the memorial gardens on the eastern edge of Merriam Station's property, just off Pryor Avenue, there is a monument in memory of Alan Geisenkotter Jr., the grandson of a member of the group. Alan Geisenkotter Jr. was an 8-year-old boy who was killed in 2018 when a repeat drunk driver crashed his snowmobile into a mobile ice fishing hut set up by Alan's father on a lake in Chisago County. Alan was flown by helicopter to Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul with head injuries and remained in critical condition for five days, but his family said at the time that he died from injuries far more severe than initially thought.
“The whole community came together to create this garden,” says Junge, who calls the well-tended flowerbed his “Little Aran Garden.” On Sunday evenings, members gather around a bonfire to socialize and strategize about future projects.
Various talents
As he weeded the memorial garden, garden coordinator Noah Kurth said he appreciated Junge's deep knowledge of plants and insects and his willingness to help when needed.
Junge is equally grateful to Kurt.
“He's a nice guy who could grow a really big beard if he wanted to,” he explained.
Merriam Station attracts a wide range of gardening talent, including beginner gardeners and a waiting list, and sometimes it's best to let people experience failure and offer guidance when they're willing to accept it.
“We're not in favor of micromanaging people's plans,” Kurth said.
Alex Junge shows off flowers he planted in a plot at Merriam Station Community Garden in St. Paul, Thursday, June 20, 2024. (John Auty/Pioneer Press)
As Junge walks along the curb at the memorial gardens, near the turnoff in the driveway where a caregiver is waiting in a van to take him to the group home, he tugs at a spotted cornflower, one of those deceptively attractive yet unusually aggressive invasive weeds. What's worth loving is worth protecting, at least that's what gardening has taught him.
“Watching things grow”
Junge, who works part-time as a kitchen helper at the University of St. Thomas during the winter, calls the university a “fun place.”
And yet, standing on the edge of what was once an unofficial garbage dump off a highway frontage, Junge now looks out over what may be the closest thing to nirvana he has.
“I love seeing things grow and thrive and the bees coming back and the birds coming back and the community coming back,” he explained. “This is a really wonderful place.”
