Farm Horizons
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Oct. 10, 2016
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Page 18
Planting dreams, growing results
Youngs turn Cokato dairy farm into five-acre garden
By Jennifer Von Ohlen
On a rural farm southwest of Cokato reside Brad
and Debbie Young, who have dedicated much of their
time to being outside as they transform what was once
a dairy farm into the garden they envision and continue
to imagine.
Brad has been working landscaping his entire life,
and learned everything he knows on the job. He and
Debbie were raised in Columbia Heights, and neither of
them have received any formal education in landscaping
design.
It all started when Brad was simply looking for something to do one summer. His brother-in-law was then
working for the landscaping business, Arteka, and got
Brad a position at the company.
Brad continued to work at Arteka for 19 years before
working for a guy who kept Brad busy for another 25
years with various projects, without ever needing to
seek other work. Debbie also started working there as a
taper, and the two of