Tim Chapman
Mother's Day is fast approaching at the International Peace Garden. It's the kickoff to our season and a first chance to reconnect with our visitors after a long winter.
This year is about as exciting as it gets thanks to the lifting of the border restrictions that accompanied the pandemic. Not seeing many of our Canadian friends in May over the last couple of years was crushing. Folks make a point of bringing their mothers down every year for a delicious meal and free plant to take home.
The snow is usually on its last breath, giving way to daffodils and tulip blooms. The sprigs of green are popping up and cannot be missed as our eyes are delighted to see a break from the never-ending white. The crabapples and aspen are also beginning to bud after a deep sleep.
The flora renewal is much like the renewal we each feel as the days grow longer. Gardens and the outdoors, in general, are a great way to harness the spring energy and chart a mindful path for the summer. Our season is short, but when broken up by stages of plant growth we have a wonderful opportunity to make the most of our northern summers.
If you cannot make it down to the International Peace Garden in May, the next stages and evolution of perennial colors and annual displays will be waiting through the summer. Fortunately, many of our readers are based in Winnipeg and areas that provide plenty of opportunities like Assiniboine Park and Fort Whyte Alive. Beauty of plants and the ecosystems they attract and support are all around us.
Hopefully the small flock of ducks I saw over the Peace Chapel the last weekend of March is a good sign. The geese will soon follow, and the beavers will begin their evening swims without a thick sheet of ice keeping them concealed.
I hope you will dedicate the time and enhanced wellbeing that comes with visiting gardens, parks and natural areas. Spring may not be entirely visible yet, but it is on the way!
Tim Chapman is the CEO at the International Peace Garden on the border of Manitoba and North Dakota. The Garden is open year-round and grooming ski trails for the first time this winter. Rent one of our cabins and enjoy a winter weekend that only the forest of the Turtle Mountains can provide.
