Mark Pehrson garden part of Aug. 1 showcase

The tradition of the Waseca Garden Club “garden walk” continues this Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. There is no charge to take part, although donations to the garden club are welcome. Those wishing to visit the five gardens on the walk are asked to begin at the Waseca Public Safety Building along South State Street, where they will be offered refreshments and supplied with a map showing the locations of the gardens.

 

Event organizers say the day is meant as a way to share ideas and possibly learn new ways of managing and decorating outdoor spaces.

 

Mark Pehrson, 75, has included his outdoor area in the event for the first time. He and his wife Deborah, more affectionately called Debbie, moved into their home along State Street North 50 years ago, raised their family, and became empty nesters across the time they shared together. Debbie died of pancreatic cancer in April of 2025.

 

As he looks at his garden, Mark remembers the many ways it, and the neighborhood around it, have changed over time. Early in their occupancy of the home, Debbie managed a downtown clothing store across the time when “shopping local” was just how things were done. Mark worked at Brown Printing overnight and helped take care of their young children during the day. A woodworker and handyman, Mark devoted many hours to refurbishing and later adding onto their house, which was first built in 1860. He also acquired aging furniture at bargain prices and refurbished it, keeping his favorites and offering the others during yearly yard sales.

 

Through it all, he says, Debbie was devoted to keeping and developing her flower gardens.

Pointing to two clusters of phlox blooming in purple and a reddish pink, he says “This is about the third look that flower bed has had already this year. 

 

“The different flowers just keep on coming.”

 

In a brief walking tour, he shares his favorite flowers have always been phlox and geraniums.

 

He’s hesitant to say what flowers were Debbie’s favorites, but says she tended to like plants which produced petite, delicate looking blooms.

 

He notes that the season-long parade of color is the result of Debbie’s knowledge and attention to detail. While they performed many gardening tasks as a couple, he credits the elegance and complexity of the yard’s several flower beds to Debbie’s dedication.

 

Something else that developed over time, a conversation with Mark reveals, is the atmosphere in and around the property. He recalls that, during the time their children were growing up, the yards of all the neighboring houses were open to view. People interacted readily, often stopping for conversations. 

 

He and Debbie never needed to grow a vegetable garden, he says, because neighbors around them planted large gardens and shared freely. Back then, it would have been difficult to picture how things look now. Over time, the hospital acquired ownership of the gradually aging homes, so that now the Pehrson yard is connected directly to the hospital parking lot on two sides.

 

In fact, Mark offers that people looking for easy parking on Saturday might consider parking in the northeast corner of the lot near Sixth Avenue Northwest.

 

Like all those who have come and gone before, Mark says the hospital is a good neighbor, and was very considerate as it continued to expand its footprint. “It’s different from what it was,” he observes regarding his home’s surroundings, “but it’s still a good place to be.”

 

Nowadays Mark is very active in mission work with St. Paul’s Lutheran Church of Waseca. He continues to volunteer and help organize events and fundraisers. His garden, with an inviting table and seating space under a shaded canopy, is a peaceful and deeply meaningful place he can return to and appreciate, enjoy, and remember.

 

He hopes people who visit can acquire some inspiration from the work he and Debbie put in that will help them with creating their own places of beauty.