Our hotel for the Minneapolis Garden Bloggers Fling

Loews Hotel Minneapolis

For the Minneapolis Fling, we have negotiated a great group rate of $189 plus tax at the Loews Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. Each room includes the following amenities:

• Complimentary WiFi
• HD TV
• iPod docking station
• Ample outlets and USB ports
• Kuerig K-Cup coffee maker

When you register for the Fling (registration opens Monday, Feb. 15), we'll include our Fling discount code for the hotel and reservations number or weblink to our online reservations page. This rate applies on a first-come, first-served basis, so make sure to book as soon as you receive confirmation that you've been registered.

Directions to the hotel are here. The Loews hotel is in a great location and within walking distance of a wide range of restaurants, shopping and nightlife. It's also only 1 block from the Light Rail Transit stop.

Loews Hotel Cosmos Bar and Restaurant

We have two major airports, Terminal 1-Lindbergh and Terminal 2-Humphrey so when you book your flight, you could fly in to either airport (they are right next to each other). Both airports are close to downtown Minneapolis. Our light rail system is easy and convenient, and a train ride from either airport to the transit stop next to our hotel only takes about 25 minutes. There’s also convenient public transportation that could take you to Uptown, St. Paul, the Mall of America, and other popular local attractions if you choose to extend your trip.

Loews Hotel Lobby

If you'll be driving instead of flying, the hotel offers valet parking at the following rates:

• Overnight: $35 (includes in/out privileges) 
• Short Term (under 4 hours): $22 
• Long Term (over 4 hours): $27 

There are a number of self-parking options available near the hotel too – many of which are connected by skyway. We'll get you more details about nearby parking options soon.

Plus, the Loews Hotel is directly connected to our huge (and very unique) skyway system; you will definitely want to explore that! Through our skyway system, you can get to practically every building (including shopping, restaurants, bars, and popular attractions) in the heart of downtown Minneapolis without stepping foot outside!

Apothecary bar in the hotel

Construction is a way of life in any major city, and downtown Minneapolis is no exception. We are in the process of building an amazing new stadium for our Minnesota Vikings, which will be the host of the 2018 Super Bowl! The new stadium is on the other side of downtown (you'll see it if you take the Light Rail from the airport, you really can't miss it!), so we don't have to worry about that construction... but in preparation for such a BIG event, downtown Minneapolis is undergoing a major (and well overdue) facelift. It's a flurry of excitement!! But... just keep that in mind if you're going to be driving into the city.

Don't worry, this is just a teaser post. We'll have more detailed info for you coming soon! And remember to sign up to attend starting on Monday, Feb. 15!

Minneapolis Fling Preview: Garden of Marge Hols

One of the gardens you'll visit on the Minneapolis Fling this July is located on Summit Avenue, a street F. Scott Fitzgerald once described as the Twin Cities' "avenue of dreams." This is a historic neighborhood of impressive homes, and the garden owner, Marge Hols, lives just down the block from the Minnesota Governor's Residence.

Marge was, for about 10 years, the gardening columnist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, and she also writes for Northern Gardener. Her garden has a relaxed, charming style, but she incorporates formal elements too.

Beautiful color combinations abound in her summer garden. 

Stay tuned for more sneak peeks in coming weeks, and remember, registration for the Minneapolis Fling opens on Monday, February 15!

Text and photos courtesy of Mary Schier, Minneapolis Fling planning committee member

Registration for Minneapolis Fling opening Feb. 15!

Garden bloggers, it's the announcement you've been waiting for! On February 15th, registration will open for the 2016 Garden Bloggers Fling in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The registration fee will be $258 (U.S. dollars). While we are still hammering out the details, Fling registration will cover bus transportation to and from the gardens, garden admission fees, lunches, and an official Fling dinner. As always, the Fling is a not-for-profit event organized by volunteers.

When is the Minneapolis Fling? The Fling will take place July 14-17, 2016. We'll kick off with a welcome event Thursday evening, July 14th, and end Sunday evening, July 17th.

How to register? Registration will be available on 2/15 through a link posted on this website and on our Facebook page. If you're on our email list, you'll receive an email notification as well (if not, fill out the form below to subscribe to our mailing list!). Payment will be accepted through PayPal only. Don't yet have a PayPal account? Why not open one today? It's free and makes things easier for our organizers.

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Registration is limited. While we wish we could accommodate every garden blogger who'd like to attend, there's only so much room in the gardens and on the buses – literally – and only so many people our volunteer organizers can juggle. We'll have approximately 80 spots, including organizers, and we encourage you to sign up (and make your payment) ASAP in order to hold your spot.

Only active garden bloggers may attend the Fling. Please visit this link outlining how to qualify for this limited-registration event.

Where will we stay? Look for our hotel announcement very soon! We'll have a group rate available for registered attendees, and you'll be responsible for making your own reservations. Feel free to start a roommate thread on our Facebook page if you'd like to share a room in order to reduce expenses.

We look forward to showing you the best gardens in Minneapolis! Come Fling with us!

--Amy Andrychowicz, Get Busy Gardening, Lead planner for the Minneapolis Fling

Update: As announced earlier today, general registration for the Minneapolis Fling will open on Feb. 15. Yesterday, a few people received an invitation for advance registration, and there's been some confusion about that, which I'd like to clear up.

Advance registration is offered to the organizers of past Flings and to current advisory committee members as a thank-you for their service. This is a small group, and it's a small perk for the many volunteer hours they've dedicated to the Fling. We should have made it clear, to those who received the email, why they were offered the opportunity for early registration, and it was not our intention for anyone to feel slighted for not receiving that invitation. Be assured that plenty of spots will be available when general registration opens, and Amy's Minneapolis team looks forward to getting you signed up. Please keep in mind that space is limited, though, and we encourage you to register as soon as you can when it opens. Stay tuned for more reminders as we get closer to the 15th!

--Pam Penick, Advisory Committee

Get the new Fling logo!

We now have an official Garden Blogger's Fling logo...

The annual Fling city logos are a great way to show your support for specific Flings (like the upcoming Minneapolis fling logo over in the right hand sidebar) - but now thanks to the creativity and design talent of Scott Weber we've got a logo for the Fling in general (isn't it fabulous!?). You should be able to save the image above and add it to your blog, just like you have other Fling logos. Thanks Scott!

What's the deal with the spoon and cherry?

As you may have noticed, the Blog Badge for the Minneapolis Fling has a spoon and cherry on it. Didn't notice? Take a closer look...

After I posted the badge for the Minneapolis Fling, someone asked me what the spoon and cherry meant. That's an excellent question, so I thought I'd answer it with a blog post (because, I'm a blogger... and that's what bloggers do, right?). Here's a real life photo of the spoon and cherry...

The Spoon and Cherry

The spoon and cherry is a famous (or, maybe not-so-famous) sculpture at the Walk Art Center downtown Minneapolis. You can read more about the artist and the history of the sculpture here...
Minneapolis spoon and cherry sculpture

The sculpture is one of the main focal points of the sculpture garden at the Walker Art Center. The sculpture garden at the Walker is one of the potential places on our list for the Fling - but we're not sure yet if we'll be able to fit it into our busy schedule. We will definitely let you know! But if we aren't able to visit the Walker sculpture garden during the Minneapolis Fling, I highly recommend you visit on your own while you're here. It's not too far from where we'll be staying.

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Flings Attended:

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