THE GARDEN STORY

Retail Construction Services, Inc. is dedicated to giving back.

We give back not only to those in need within our community, but also the future generations of this wonderful community. What started out as a great idea has grown exponentially and became an amazing reality. Here at the RCS Giving Garden, school groups, master gardeners, corporate volunteers, and our own employees work together for the common good of teaching children the art of gardening and the importance of healthy eating. Click Here for Full Story.

LOCATION:
Retail Construction Services, Inc.
11343 39th Street N.
Lake Elmo, MN 55042

From HWY 36 - go south on Lake Elmo Ave, turn left onto 39th Street, garden is at corner of 39th and Laverne.
From HWY 5- going west from Stillwater take right onto Laverne (near Fury dealership) garden is on the right at corner of Laverne and 39th street.

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The RCS Giving Garden

The RCS Giving Garden

11/9/11

Scarecrow Bob

We received word from Tammy Palmer with the Stillwater SPIN Program that a group of students had “made something to put in the garden”. What could this surprise be?

So yesterday I paid a visit to the school to find out what surprise they made for the garden. To my delight, this creative group of students made “Scarecrow Bob”! They were so excited to share information; how they assembled him, how he was laid-out on a table like they were doing surgery, how he was stuffed and put together. I enjoyed watching the expressions on their faces as they each added to the conversation, layers and layers and layers of talking, laughing and explaining with show-in-tell demonstrations. They pointed out that each student had also signed Scarecrow Bob’s straw hat and on the front they wrote:  Property of Scarecrow Bob.  As a final touch, the students put a shiny metal tape with Bob’s name on the front pocket of his flannel shirt.


Back L to R:  Dylan, Charlie, Sydney, Olivia, Hannah, Megan. 
Front L to R:  Jane, Tatiana, Lindsay, and Sara
(Click to enlarge photo) 
I asked where in the garden we should put him in the spring. Someone said “In the corn of course!”… However, the corn moves every year. We all agreed that Scarecrow Bob deserves the center of attention and he will be placed in the middle of the garden for all to see. This spring we will construct a support stand to keep Scarecrow Bob standing tall for all to see as they visit the garden.

In exchange for the garden gift, I left this group with fresh apple cider and apples from a local orchard. They had one extra jug of cider that they were going to freeze and save for a celebration they were having on the 28th of this month.

Before leaving, one student told me to “remember to buckle him in!” With that in mind, since Scarecrow Bob weighs less than 40 lbs, I put him in the back seat, and secured him for the ride home, and then back to the office. (there is a photo of him in the back seat of the car in the movie at the end of this story) I have to say, riding with a Scarecrow in the back seat was quite funny… more than one car would slow down next to me and then pass by after exchanging a big smile. I had to ask myself if perhaps they thought this was my attempt at an extra passenger to use the ride share lanes!

Scarecrow Bob is now home at Retail Construction Services. As we wait for that first blanket of white to cover the garden, we look forward to enjoying the quiet peace this time of year brings. With Scarecrow Bob as our new garden guardian angel, and his rags of love to flap in the breeze, we are sure to have an amazing year of produce to come!

“For I consider brains far superior to money in every way. You may have noticed that if one has money without brains, he cannot use it to his advantage; but if one has brains without money, they will enable him to live comfortably to the end of his days.”
   ― L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz