Como Park Zoo & Conservatory is serving up some scrumptious garden fun this summer in its first ever edible garden is now open.

Check out this video of the garden courtesy of KSTP!

“Roots, Shoots, and Fruits—The Incredible Edible Garden” will feature an array of vegetables, small fruits, and tasty herbs cultivated in an imaginative garden display. There will be hanging baskets filled with peppers, tomatoes and cilantro to make salsa, containers of strawberries, nasturtium and lettuce for fresh salads, and garden plots will produce blueberries, beans, corn, broccoli, watermelon and many other edible treats throughout the summer. It is an exhibit for visitors of all ages designed to teach about planting and preparing foods that can be grown at home. Some of the produce will also be used to feed the zoo’s animals.

“We are very excited about this new exhibit, and hope visitors will be inspired to plant their own gardens after seeing the wide variety of edible plants that can be easily grown in Minnesota,” said Como Park Zoo & Conservatory Manager Michelle Furrer. “People will be pleasantly surprised to see it’s not just a row of tomatoes and bush beans!”

The exhibit will open Friday, June 17 and run through September 5. Trained staff will be onsite 10am – 6pm to answer guests questions. At 11 a.m. daily, guest experts will talk about growing techniques, ways to harvest and prepare food from your garden, natural pest control and creative edible landscape design. Activities will be planned during the duration of Roots, Shoots & Fruits including cooking discussions, author talks, hands-on learning opportunities for children, and plant care demonstrations. The garden display covers more than 8,000 square feet and is south of the Visitor Center in the space previously occupied by Blooming Butterflies.