Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

The Millpond of Montrose sets its business in stone



Denny and Sharon Sandin know the difference between a rock and a hard place; in fact that’s their job.

The couple owns The Millpond, located in the industrial park on the east side of Montrose along Highway 12, which specializes in supplying local homeowners with hardscapes, or items such as stonework in landscaping.

The duo built The Millpond almost two years ago so they would have a place to do ironwork.

Denny Sandin is a retired plumber and welder, and enjoys working with the hardscapes.

“If you give me a plant, I’ll probably kill it.There’s no chance of that with rocks,” Sandin said.

Although the couple lives in Golden Valley, they chose to build the business in Montrose to be closer to their kids. “We wanted to have a garden center,” Sandin said.

The Millpond has 36 different kinds of rock available in all shapes and sizes.

It also has a large selection of boulders and timbers.

“The rock that we have is unique.We’re basically the only ones west of the cities with such a large rock selection,” Sandin said.

The rocks come from all over, and some are shipped by train from the Rocky Mountains.

The Sandins also sell grass seed, tools, pond supplies, and anything that contributes to lawn and garden.“We’re home and garden outfitters,” Sandin said. “We try to help people out the best we can.”

The Millpond offers delivery services of grass seed, dirt, mulch, and sod staples. Eighty-five percent of the Sandins’ business is from local homeowners.

A big part of the Sandins’ business is building custom designed accent pieces.

Customers can bring in pictures of what they want, and the Sandins create it using ironwork and custom pottery from concrete.

They recently constructed a 25-foot long dinosaur for display at the Minnesota State Fair.

Today the dinosaur is visible outside The Millpond.

The Millpond is open all year round and employs four other people during the summer months.

The Sandins keep busy during the winter by working on custom designed products ranging from ironwork to water features built out of rock.

They also offer help with custom lighting and plumbing for the yard, with the exception of landscape ponds.

The Millpond is open Mondays thru Fridays 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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