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April 26, 2023 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Beautiful and Easy to Grow Native Plants for Your Garden

Joe Pye weed, goldenrod, Maximilian sunflower, Culver’s root, inula (non native) and filipendula (not native to Manitoba).

By Debbie Innes, Master Gardener

Oh, the beauty and reliability of native plants! I have grown to appreciate native plants for their variety, hardiness, and reliability, as well as for their value to our birds, bees and butterflies, in my home landscape as well as Albrin Bay Park. Albrin Bay Park, a project of mine since 1998, now contains 70 native perennial plant species and some cool native shrubs as well, with more going in this summer. But the main focus of this article will be on beautiful and easy to grow natives for your yard.READ MORE

April 11, 2023 In Uncategorized

Living Green Show

Our Members presenting at the Living Green Event

Lori Graham: Composting
Friday, April 7 – 6:00pm
Florence Carey: Growing a Tea Garden
Saturday, April 8 – 4:00pm

Debbie Innes: Seed Starting
Sunday, April 9 – 1:00pm

Virginia Stephenson: My Gardening is for the Birds
Sunday, April 9 – 4:00pm

February 27, 2023 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Growing Fruit in Our Backyard Garden: A Personal Experience

Norkent apple blossoms

by Wendy MacLean, Master Gardener
Beausejour, Manitoba

Memories of shelves filled with jars of preserved fruit from our family’s backyard inspired me to grow and preserve some of my own fruit for summer and winter eating. When we acquired our property in Beausejour, a small town about an hour’s drive Northeast of Winnipeg, I looked at our 54m deep by 22.8m wide (180 ft x 75 ft) lot and thought: “This is my chance!” Most of our edible trees and shrubs are planted in the back half of this lot (East of the house) and there is still room for a good-sized vegetable garden and ornamental flower beds. This lot is sheltered by a hedge of native Eastern white cedars (Thuja occidentalis) pruned annually to a height of 2.1m (7 ft) on the South and North sides, a line of full grown native white spruce trees (Picea glauca) on the East edge and bordered by the street on the West. Full sun shines on the main growing areas.
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February 26, 2023 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Variegation

By Ashely Gaden, Master Gardener Intern

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Plant leaves are green
And other colours, too?

Even from school age, we’re taught that plants photosynthesize sunlight to produce energy for themselves. Plants rely on the chlorophyll inside their leaves for this chemical reaction. The chlorophyll absorbs most of the light spectrum but reflects the green wavelengths, which is why we see leaves as green.

But some plants have foliage of two or more colours. Leaves can have spots, stripes, mottling, or venal or bordered leaf patterns. This phenomenon is called variegation. Contrasting colours are often a welcome addition in the home or outdoor spaces. Some variegated tropical plants are highly desirable and expensive, such as variegated Rhaphidophora tetrasperma or Monstera deliciosa ‘Albo-Variegata’, which can fetch prices in the three to five digits. There are many types of variegated plant varieties in our gardens from hostas and irises to dogwoods and lilacs.READ MORE

February 25, 2023 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

My Love for Verbena Bonariensis

By Elizabeth Scales, Master Gardener Intern

My favorite plant is Verbena bonariensis. Until a few years ago, I had never heard of this plant, nor had I ever seen it. It wasn’t until I was looking through a gardening magazine that I saw a picture that stopped me in my tracks. It was a picture of a large swath of tall, airy plants with a purple lavender flower. “What is that?” I thought. The plant was called Verbena bonariensis and this particular garden was in the southern United States. “Oh great!” I thought, another plant that would never grow in my Manitoba garden.READ MORE

February 25, 2023 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Interview with Board Member Virginia Stephenson

Interview with board member Virginia Stephenson

Newsletter (NL): How long have you been gardening?
Virginia Stephenson (VS): I started gardening in a small way with some vegetables and flowers when I moved into my home in Charleswood in 1978. In 1988 I hauled 50 railway ties and 50 yards of soil into my backyard to build raised beds all around the yard, and started filling them with flowers. I am still working on it now.READ MORE

February 24, 2023 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

A review of The Prairie Garden 2023: Climate Aware Gardening

By Darlene Belton, Master Gardener

A dire theme, one that many would rather avoid, is faced head on in this year’s edition of The Prairie Garden (TPG) that styles itself as ‘Western Canada’s only gardening annual’.

A vigorous mix of climate change and soil science for our region, viable plant options recommended by renowned cold-climate breeders, and practical strategies for increasing the resilience of one’s home garden eases the reader into this urgent topic, even fostering enthusiasm to ‘get at it’.READ MORE