What’s Happening in My Gardening Community of Birtle
By Val Thomson, Master Gardener
Birtle is famous for its gardens. Well, maybe not “famous” famous but we are known in some quarters as a cluster of enthusiastic plant people and landscapers. We work hard at our garden spaces and it shows. Given the amount of interest in gardening in our community, instructors at Assiniboine Community College in Brandon agreed to come out to teach Master Gardener courses in 2005. Since then, each year (mostly) we have opened our gardens to visitors, sometimes in conjunction with art and artists. This summer (Saturday, July 19th, 2025) we plan to up the ante with an extravaganza encompassing gardens, heritage, culture, and art. We are about to become a celebration capital and here’s how it will play out.
In the morning, 10-noon, there will be a self-guided tour of six fabulous gardens in Birtle and area. There are only two hours for this tour so focus and concentration is key. You’ve got to know what you want to see and just do it.
In the afternoon, 1- 4 (rain or shine), a whole program of happenings will take place at Val’s Garden. This is a venture born of the partnership between Birtle Centre for the Arts and the Birtle Country Museum (both community services infiltrated by passionate gardeners).
Briefly, and still in the planning stages, there will be:
- Master Gardeners on hand for plant and gardening guidance;
- plants and other items for sale;
- a fashion show along the allée as well as “actors” in historic character;
- an indigenous component (both organizations have begun a reconciliation path);
- fabulous food; and
- artists and their art.
It is a fundraiser so be prepared to pay handsomely for being a part of this spectacle. Any money raised at the garden extravaganza will be shared between the Birtle Centre for the Arts and Birdtail Country Museum.
More information on this event will be available at a later date.
A glimpse of the gardens
Except for Sally Donald’s garden, these gardens are on acreages or part of a farmyard where space is not restricted and the plantings are proportionately large in size.
Photo: Pat Farquhar – Pat’s Garden
Pat Farquhar has constructed a magnificent and massive potager, fenced to protect against deer. On the inside perimeter is a continuous perennial garden. The remaining sections of the potager, separated by wood chip paths, are devoted to a host of wonderful edibles that grow so well in our difficult climate including strawberries (June bearing) and a veritable field of asparagus.
An island shrubbery with plants carefully selected for colourful foliage and a large, curved peninsula that segues into the surrounding windbreak and a shade garden create an interesting landscape.
Photo: Shonda Ashcroft – Shonda’s Garden
Shonda Ashcroft, whose garden is a must-see and totally worth the extra mile drive from Birtle, has developed an extensive and carefully curated undulating border surrounding her house and lawn. It’s probably about 400 feet and requires frequent pauses to admire both plants and their appearance.
In a stunning adjustment to the border west of the house is a newly developed garden which is built on the theme of an allée but without the trees, a hydrangea walk. A central grass path guarded by two standard caraganas (Caragana arborescens) and a substantial row of hostas on either side of the path forming an avenue filled with hydrangeas leads, of all things, to a knot garden!
The last innovation is a small forest (petit arboretum) alongside the driveway. Among the young inhabitants are Pin Oak (Quercus palustris), Ohio Buckeye (Aesculus glabra), Butternut (Juglans cinerea L.), Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) and many varieties of ornamental crab apples, all underplanted with daffodils.
Brenda Evans (not to be confused with this newsletter’s editor Brenda Evans from Winnipeg) has a garden situated at the edge of the Birdtail valley overlooking both a ravine and the town of Birtle. Here on several acres, she has carved out her garden areas. “Carved” because her garden is literally on a glacial deposit of boulders rendering normal gardening impossible. At an earlier point in the garden’s history, the former owner had cleared an area about 30 ft x 150 ft and this has become Brenda’s potager (it’s a Birtle garden theme). Like Pat’s, it is fenced and has a perimeter bed with a tapestry of self-seeding annuals and perennials such as daylilies that had been brought in a suitcase from a daylily farm in Ontario. Plantings for this garden area were inspired by a “pilgrimage” made to the astonishing gardens of Patrick Lima on the Georgian Bay side of the Bruce Peninsula.
As is suitable for a landscape with rocks, Brenda has carved a huge rockery on an east-facing slope.
Sally Donald’s tiny jewel of a garden is situated on the corner of Main Street and 9th Ave in the town of Birtle. How can so much plant delight be fitted into this small lot? Sally is an artist with an eye for arranging both plants, such as lilies and peonies, and objects of interest. Her garden surrounds a rare two-storey stone house and is picture-book-perfect.
Val Thomson’s garden has evolved from four acres of scrub pasture and a broken farm implement repository. To grasp the expanse of Val’s garden, check out her website (www.valsgarden.ca). There are many highlights including: a new perennial garden inspired by Piet Oudolf, a Cretan labyrinth, a goldfish pond, a sunken rose garden with about 200 hardy Canadian roses, and a circular rose garden with approximately 35 David Austin roses.
Photo: Val Thomson – Val’s Herb Garden
A large potager garden, a circular ‘Mediterranean” garden framed by a grape-covered arbour, an herb garden, inspired by Rosemary Verey, has all the usual hardy herbs as well as an astonishing hedge of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) ‘Hidcote’ and ‘Munstead’. An orchard consisting of eight apple trees, (four of which are espaliered along the north side of the potager) are all featured.
A red osier dogwood hedge, an allée of 26 Mancana ash trees, a woodland garden, and a very long mixed border of perennials and shrubs add to the view.
Featured banner photo:: Val Thomson – Val’s pond