Shea Doherty of Our Farm Greenhouse in Portage La Prairie is the inaugural guest of the Episode 1 of The Gardener on Lifestyles 55 Digital Radio. Shea is a nature savant. He is totally in tune with the world around him and can even hear plants grow on still nights. He shares a few of his discoveries with our listeners. For example, did you know that when a spruce tree sheds its winter needles in the dead of night, it sounds like rain falling? Shea says a keen ear can hear earthworms dragging bits of leaf from the surface to their underground homes. And the music of the night owl thrills his soul with its deep rich tones.
In the second segment, Shea takes us on a tour of his greenhouse and let’s us learn what is going to be irresistible this spring. As usual, there are some spectacular petunias, particularly a bright yellow one, that he says will gladden the heart and stun the eye. Shea has a very mature fig tree that produces quantities of the fruit which he sells at St. Norbert Market every summer. He gets at least two crops a year. He tells us about his instore fishpond which teams with life and he introduces us to his budgies, cockatoos and love birds.
Finally, Shea shows us some of his multitudinous succulents, and the tropical plants he has in stock for this summer. The Boston ferns will be a hit again. And he has some other ferns that are just as fascinating. One has very tiny leaves and grows more horizontally than vertically. When it comes to ferns, they are quite happy to get a little dry . . .