Newsletter Articles

September 14, 2026 In Manitoba trees, Newsletter Articles, Newsletters, Sustainable Gardening

Snag Appeal

by Laura Reeves

In 2008, I bought 160 acres with a homestead that had been abandoned for 25 years. The old houses and barn were starting to cave-in, the grass was long and matted, and the yard was dotted with giant 100-year-old Manitoba maples. These trees were spectacular, their trunks too big to wrap my arms around. Some had large limbs that ran along the ground for a time; others were within reach of an outstretched arm – perfect for climbing. I imagined all of the stories they could tell.

 

Dramatically, in 2011, a wildfire raged through the farm, taking the barn, houses and shed. The heat from the burning buildings was so intense that it killed or permanently damaged trees a fair distance away. Including all but one of the giant maple trees.

 

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September 14, 2026 In Book review, Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Book Review: Vibrant Harvest by Sandra Mao

Reviewed by Master Gardener Florence Carey

It was a chilly Gardening Saturday at the Millennium Library when I first spotted this book. It was “New and Noted” on a shelf of gardening books the thoughtful library staff had put on display for the many gardeners milling about the library, chatting gardens and exchanging seeds. The bright cover featuring a selection of both vegetables and flowers, drew me in. There’s nothing like some beautiful and artistic photographs of vibrant heirloom tomatoes, squash and multi-coloured cauliflower to make a gardener dream of planting, growing, harvesting, and eating the rainbow.

 

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September 14, 2026 In Children's Gardening, Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Reviving a Community Garden at École Varennes

by Master Gardener Suzanne Simpson

You find yourself in the school yard of a K-6 school and are drawn to the garden beds brimming with fruit and flowers. If you pause for a moment, you’ll discover an eclectic mix of legumes, squash, herbs, cut flowers, and native Manitoba perennial plants. If you crouch down, you’ll notice tiny mushrooms have fruited amongst the wood chips as beetles react to your footsteps and scurry under the larger pieces. If you close your eyes and listen, you’ll hear the cheery chatter of birds swooping between lilac bushes and garden flowers as they feast on the insects that are drawn to the nectar and pollen found so abundantly throughout.

 

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September 7, 2026 In Garden and Floral Design, Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Avoiding Floral Foam in Your Arrangements

by Master Gardener Linda Dietrick

Since 2021, the Royal Horticultural Society has banned the use of floral foam (also called Oasis™) at all of their events, including the Chelsea Flower Show. Though still widely used by florists to hold flower stems in place and keep them hydrated, floral foam is actually quite bad for the environment. It’s made of petroleum-based plastic that does not biodegrade when thrown in the landfill. As it falls apart, it also introduces microplastics, microscopic particles that are harmful to many organisms, into the soil and potentially into waterways. This is a real concern if, for example, a floral arrangement is buried with a coffin.

 

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June 15, 2026 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Tending the Inner Garden

by Melissa Scouten

My mom had a humongous vegetable garden. It fed our family for decades, providing rows of potatoes, raspberries pushing at their boundaries, jars of pickles lining the shelves, pies cooling on the counter, perogies in the freezer. It was productive, generous, and impressive.

It was also a lot of work.

From soil preparation to preserving, the garden moved with the rhythm of the seasons and a long list of tasks. There were weeds to stay ahead of, tomatoes that somehow all ripened at once and harvests that could not wait.

Looking back, I wonder what restorative moments the garden may have quietly offered along the way; the warmth of soil on bare feet in early June, corn stalks shifting in the wind while hilling potatoes, the satisfaction of pulling quack grass from the raspberry patch.

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June 14, 2026 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Gardeners in a Gallery

by Gosia Barrette, Master Gardener

This year members of MMGA took part in the 2026 WAG – Qaumajuq “Art in Bloom” – a festival of art and flowers. The event, which happens every other year, is based on the concept of using flowers and other materials to interpret paintings and carvings chosen by the Art in Bloom Committee, working closely with WAG-Qaumajug. Participants also submitted a brief write-up explaining their vision for the chosen art prior to starting their interpretations.

Ninety-five works were featured with over 100 participants bringing together the floral industry and floral enthusiasts to fill the WAG-Qaumajug with flowers and creativity. Our own members, Master Gardeners and Interns participated not only by representing the Association but also by creating individual pieces or representing other groups.

 

The Process:

It was wonderful to see the final interpretations in-person or posted on social media, but what about the process of how these arrangements came to be? I reached out to the MMGA members who participated this year to find out.

Man and Animals in Umiak by Philip Hakuluk. Floral interpretation by Master Gardeners Gosia Barrette, Doris Mae Oulton, Laverne Dahlin
and Elise Kathler, representing the Manitoba Master Gardener Association

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June 11, 2026 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

The ‘Chelsea Chop’ for Northern Gardens

by Linda Dietrick, Master Gardener

In 2015, I was lucky enough to visit the garden of the well-known Irish garden writer Helen Dillon near Dublin. It was September, and I was amazed to see everything still in lush bloom, including masses of delphiniums. “How do you do it?” I asked.

She smiled and shrugged as if it were no big secret and replied, “Chelsea chop.” That was the first I’d ever heard of it.

Photographer credit: Linda Dietrick Caption: Helen Dillon’s garden near Dublin, September 2015

Photographer credit: Linda Dietrick Caption: Helen Dillon’s garden near Dublin, September 2015 Helen Dillon’s garden near Dublin, September 2015. Photo: Linda Dietrick

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February 25, 2026 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters, Resource

Sources for Native Plants and Seeds in Manitoba

Photo by Linda Dietrick. Symphyotrichum novae angliae.


2026 Update


Compiled by Linda Dietrick, Master Gardener

More and more gardeners are recognizing the value of native plants, also called indigenous plants, in the home garden. Not only are they hardy, drought-tolerant, and beautiful, they support pollinators and other wildlife to a degree that most garden cultivars cannot.

Where can gardeners source these plants and their seeds? The following six growers are committed to selling regionally indigenous genotypes from Manitoba. They harvest and propagate their material from plants that originated in the province’s wild areas, usually within a few hundred kilometers of their nursery.

To find out what species they offer, visit their websites, or if you are looking for something specific, you can call or email them.

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February 25, 2026 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Designing a Spiral Herb Garden

Photo: Brenda Evans. Melanie’s Spiral Garden.

By Melanie Stuve, Master Gardener

Some projects are born out of curiosity and intrigue, while others are born out of necessity. When we discovered that our yard had a roadbed running under a good portion of it—making in-ground planting impossible—we knew we had to get creative to use the space for gardening. We built raised beds for vegetable gardening, which was fairly straightforward, but while researching alternatives, one particularly interesting idea stood out: an herb spiral.

 

The concept of an herb spiral is simple yet effective. Soil is mounded highest in the centre (or top) of the spiral and gradually becomes shallower toward the outside edge, or tail. This creates a range of growing conditions within a small footprint. Herbs that prefer drier conditions are planted at the top—such as rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)—while moisture-loving herbs, like parsley (Petroselinum crispum), are planted toward the bottom.

 

My husband and I love projects and are avid do-it-yourself gardeners, and I would rate this project as a relatively simple one. It can become more complex if you choose to build a tall spiral or use materials such as bricks or mortar. By keeping the spiral smaller and using simple materials, the project remains very manageable. An herb spiral requires only a few basic materials; in our case, stones, cardboard, and soil. We made a trip to a local landscape supply company and hand-picked medium-sized black granite stones. We estimated how many we would need and, by some miracle, ended up with exactly the right amount. For soil, we chose a four-way mix, which provided good structure, drainage, and organic matter for a variety of herbs.

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February 25, 2026 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Composting Through the Growing Season in Manitoba

Photo: Courtesy of Green Action Centre. Composting.

When and How to Harvest Your Compost in Manitoba

By Natalia Camus-Lopez, Waste Reduction Team Lead, Green Action Centre

Composting is a common practice amongst Manitoba gardeners, but questions often come up around timing—particularly when compost is ready to use and how to manage it through our seasons. With long, cold winters and a relatively short growing season, compost behaves differently here than in milder climates. Understanding how compost progresses from spring through summer, when to harvest it, and how to prepare for winter can help gardeners get the most value from their compost systems.

This article focuses on practical, season-by-season guidance for composting in Manitoba, with particular attention to harvesting compost during the growing season and preparing compost and garden beds as winter approaches.

A Brief Refresher on Composting Basics

Composting is the process by which microorganisms break down organic materials in the presence of oxygen. These microorganisms need a balance of nitrogen-rich materials (“greens”), carbon-rich materials (“browns”), moisture, and air to function effectively. In Manitoba, outdoor composting slows significantly or stops altogether during winter as temperatures drop, then resumes once conditions warm in spring. This seasonal pause is normal and does not harm the composting process.

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