SAUK RAPIDS HERALD & BENTON COUNTY NEWS | TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2020 | HOME AND GARDEN GUIDE | Page 1B
Home &
Garden GUIDE|2020
Butterfly, bee buffet Pollinator gardens feed the world BY NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
ST. CLOUD – A blooming garden that lasts from early spring to late fall may lend itself as a mental vacation for some, but the ecosystem within is more than meets the eye. Gardens are shelters, food sources and homes to nature’s
smallest residents. Protecting pollinators has become an ongoing trend across the world and rightly so. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, three-fourths of the world’s flowering plants and about 35% of the world’s food crops depend on pollinators to reproduce. Pollinators include bees, butterflies and flower flies. “Without them we wouldn’t have any food,” Bobby Jensen said. Jensen, co-host of Grow
with KARE of KARE 11 news, has been in the horticulture industry since 1976. He hosted two sessions of “Pollinator Gardening: Who, What, Where, When” at the Central Minnesota Builders Association Home & Lifestyle Show March 15 at the River’s Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud. One way people can help protect pollinators is by planting pollinator gardens. Jensen said native plantings can be beneficial to both property owners and pollinators alike. He said native plants produce
more nectar t h a n hybrids, and native plants and insects have coinhabited for ages. For homeowners, native species are simple: no special soil, no fertilizer and minimal watering once plants are established. “I’m the laziest gardener you’ve ever met,” Jensen said.
Pollinators page 2B
Inside:
Pollinator gardening page 1B,2B,4B Helmbrecht page 3B First time home buying page 5B-6B Building permits page 7B
Page 2B | HOME AND GARDEN GUIDE | TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2020 | SAUK RAPIDS HERALD & BENTON COUNTY NEWS
Pollinators from front “I like to put my stuff in, leave it alone, don’t fertilize or water, let nature take its course. And when you get into natives, you’ll find out that is what they are all about.” Jensen said native plantings do not have to be large prairies and meadows. He suggests people build rain gardens, upland gardens or intersperse native plantings in already established landscapes. Katie Drewitz agreed. “It doesn’t have to be complicated,” she said in a separate interview. “A small area of pollinator
friendly plants with a diversity of bloom times is all it really takes.” Drewitz is an University of Minnesota Extension Educator specializing in horticulture, small farms and local foods for Benton, Stearns and Morrison counties. Jensen said pollinator gardens need three things: cover, food and bedding. He suggests people plan on incorporating host, nectar and habitat plants when planning their garden. Host plants provide food for insect larvae – think common milkweed for the monarch butterfly. Nectar plants provide
food for adult pollinators and habitat plants, such as grasses, allow for nesting and overwintering. Jensen also suggested people choose at least three blooming plants for the spring, summer and fall. “The specific type of plant is less important than the diversity of plant bloom times,” Drewitz said. “To have a successful pollinator space, you need to be providing a food source from very early spring through late fall.” Drewitz said people should also consider the needs of different life
Pollinators page 4B PHOTO BY NATASHA BARBER
Bobby Jensen, of Grow with wit KARE, speaks at the CMBA Home & Lifestyle Show March 15 in St. Cloud. Jensen presented on pollin pollinator gardens.
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SAUK RAPIDS HERALD & BENTON COUNTY NEWS| TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2020 | HOME AND GARDEN GUIDE | Page 3B
PHOTOS BY JAKOB KOUNKEL
Brandon Helmbrecht stands next to a house March 12 in Foley. He started Helmbrecht Builders LLC in 2015.
One-man construction crew in Foley does it all Helmbrecht finds passion, purpose in building
BY JAKOB KOUNKEL STAFF WRITER
FOLEY – A one-man construction crew based in Foley is determined to use his skills to capitalize on an industry that has served him well since starting fresh out of high school. Whether Brandon Helmbrecht is the general contractor through his company, Helmbrecht Builders LLC, or constructing the integral pieces of a building, his work is enjoyable and meaningful. H e l m b r e c h t unwittingly launched his construction career in high school, taking advantage of a program at Buffalo’s Wright Technical Center. The curriculum was
aimed at offering students instruction in a hands-on, trade-oriented alternative to standard education. From his experience there, he landed a job working for Dearing Construction in Annandale before heading off to college. “I was all set up to go to school to be an electrician, and then I got there, got my books, decided it wasn’t for me,” Helmbrecht said. “I went back to talk to my boss to see if he would give me a raise, and he taught me everything he knew.” Helmbrecht liked the work but never realized he might one day be in a position to have his own construction company. From a high school student looking for extra
money before college to five years ago when he started Helmbrecht Builders, Helmbrecht built from the bottom up. Construction was originally going to be a summer job, but he found a passion in it. He likes the nature of the work: hands-on, physical labor with an end product that lasts decades. Working directly with materials and learning-by-doing was important, and there is plenty to learn in the field. “It was a lot to learn, definitely,” Helmbrecht said. “I mean, in the trades sometimes it’s easier to be on the job site instead of
Helmbrecht page 4B
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Page 4B | HOME AND GARDEN GUIDE | TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2020 | SAUK RAPIDS HERALD & BENTON N COUNTY NEWS
Pollinators from page 2B
stages of pollinators. She said while the monarch caterpillar needs milkweed, the adult butterfly needs nectar producing flowers and shelter from the wind. Odd numbers of plants over a variety of growing seasons will help drive eye-catching interest in the garden, as well, Jensen said. And, favorite plants can become a thread that ties a garden together if planted periodically. “Pick the star, pick the one you like and then fill in around it,” he said. “The garden is a motion picture and you’re the director. Make sure you’re not putting plants in that will all grow in spring. You want to make sure you’re spacing things
Some of Jensen's favorite pollinator garden plants: Black-eyed susan: Rudbeckia hirta Large beardtongue: Penstemon grandifloras Butterfly milkweed: Asclepias tuberosa Blazing star: Liatris spicata Little bluestem: Schizachyrium scoparium New England aster: Symphyotrichum novae-angliae Autumn Joy sedum: Hylotelephium herbstsfreude
out so that as some grow, some are just sitting there. Some flower, others are just green.” Jensen said blooms in purple, yellow and orange hues attract Minnesota pollinators. A specific recommendation was blazing star (Liatris spicata). “It looks like a purple piece of candy and comes up straight,” Jensen said. “It is Monarch candy. It’s not only Monarch candy, it’s bee candy, moth candy and every pollinator candy. It has an amazing amount of pollen
and sweetness in it, and it’s a really easy plant to grow. You can buy the native species, or you can buy any one of the 12-15 hybridized varieties.” Gardeners need to read plant labels in order to place plants in the correct landscapes, and the site of new horticultural construction should be viewed multiple times during the day to see if buildings or habitat affect sunlight. Jensen also said to place the plants, while potted, in the gardening plan before breaking soil. Planning a garden is
PHOTO BY JAKOB KOUNKEL
Brandon Helmbrecht secures a piece of drywall to the basement of a Foley resident’s house early in the morning March 12. Helmbrecht takes on projects big and small from simple cabinets to homes.
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important and d gardeners should be leery y of impulse buying. “When youu go to do these things have a plan in your head,” d,” Jensen said. “Figure out what you’re going to do and what you’re going to buy. Of course se you can ask questions and maybe change it, but if you are buying just because it looks cool,, what usually happens is ppens people’s gardens ns are really beautiful in the springg and then they ey have nothing – because you’re buyingg in the spring and your our there more in the spring.” ring.” Jensen said in order for people ople to bee successful, they hey mustt ask questions and not bee afraid to learn. People rn. Peopl le should read labels, bels, books bookks and online resources ources such succh as MinnesotaWildfl Wildflowers. ower errs. ers info, he said. “Ask questions; tions; that’s th hat at’s at’ why these people ple work worrk in in the garden center,” Jensen ter,” Jen nsen ns en said. … “Our industry industr tryy is tr is a cycle.”
Helmbrecht from page 3B a classroom where you can look at it and you’re seeing it right there.” The day to day progression of each project gives the business owner purpose. “It’s always satisfying to look back and see what you did that day,” Helmbrecht said. Although the end result is fulfilling, a day’s work is not tethered to an eight-hour workday. If there are setbacks, the workday becomes longer; if all goes smoothly, the workday is shorter. It also means no two days are the same, especially for a construction worker as diverse as Helmbrecht. Being a one-man crew, Helmbrecht does mostly everything: frame, windows, doors, decks, siding, basement finishes, flooring, woodwork and trim work,
among other things. Aside from plumbing, heating and electrical work, Helmbrecht is able to do most of the work himself. On the front end, Helmbrecht also punches the numbers. “I’ll go to Foley Lumber and get the estimates from them on the product, then put their numbers with my numbers and the electrician’s numbers and come up with a final price,” Helmbrecht said. Helmbrecht works with projects big and small – from building a cabinet for a customer to coordinating subcontractors as the general contractor. And his work speaks for itself. Most of the business Helmbrecht gets comes from referrals, he said. He takes pride in working together to
get a final result that is meaningful to the customer too. “I just want the homeowners to be happy when I’m done and the job to be done right,” Helmbrecht said. … “I’m treating the homeowner right.” Like a nurse with good bedside manner, Helmbrecht emphasizes the importance of treating the customers right while ensuring their needs are met. Not only has Helmbrecht used his skills to help support his family, – both physically, by building the house they live in, and financially – but he also continues to find passion and purpose in his work, something he believes everybody, regardless of profession, should pursue.
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SAUK RAPIDS HERALD & BENTON COUNTY NEWS| TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2020 | HOME AND GARDEN GUIDE | Page 5B
The ins and outs
of first-time home buying
PHOTO BY ANNA HINKEMEYER
Brandon Helmbrecht secures a piece of drywall to the basement of a Foley resident’s house early in the morning March 12. Helmbrecht takes on projects big and small from simple cabinets to homes.
Realtors offer tips to get people started BY ANNA HINKEMEYER STAFF WRITER
SAUK RAPIDS – Buying a home for the first time can come with mixed emotions – excitement for the big purchase, anticipation of finding the right home and the stress of packing everything for the move. Such a monumental decision requires a buyer to slow down and work through the process. Cass Janaszak, realtor, and Kyle Haller, owner of Haller Realty Inc. of Sauk Rapids and Becker, have experience in helping people find their first home, but the pair said being prepared is important.
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Having financing secured is the best place to start. “If you think you are going to go in and look at houses and then get a lender, it’s probably too late,” Haller said. “Homes in this market go so fast, so you need to be prepared.” The type of loan a potential buyer has secured determines what the agent looks for in presenting possible homes. Haller said buyers need to communicate with lenders on a comfortable monthly payment price point. A buyer may qualify for more financing but may not be comfortable with spending a higher dollar amount, he said.
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Once the buyer is pre-approved, the process moves into the next phase of beginning the home search. Listings move quickly in the current market, and Haller said most listings have multiple offers within the first 72 hours of listing. Often real estate agents are pre-marketing homes
as coming soon. “This allows us to be two steps in before the listing goes live,” Haller said. “We work for our buyers to get the best possible deal. When something comes up, even if my client is at work, I let them know right away so they don’t miss out on a great property.”
As people begin their search, a buyer should develop a list of needs and wants. An open floor plan amongst the kitchen, dining and living room is a high-priority for buyers who entertain. And storage throughout the kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, entryway and laundry room is a
common theme. Purchasing a new home can come with decisions that are less apparent. Janaszak often recommends her clients drive the route from the perspective home to their work to get a sense of
Haller page 6B