Off to Saskatchewan

In this episode, Shauna and Dorothy head out to Saskatchewan looking for gardens for Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, stopping first at Virden where Manitoba MLA and Deputy Speaker Doyle Piwniuk has a garden that focusses on amazing tree combinations. One of those trees is a ginkgo, the dinosaur tree, that grow happily in his sheltered garden. He has also built an incredible Mediterranean courtyard, surrounded by trees in his backyard.

Then it was a 45-minute drive to Moosomin, Sask.  and the discovery of a lovely and energetic lady who has learned to do most of the things a man does. She built a beautiful “beach” house beside her pool, spending $200 for the shell then furnishing it from Kijiji finds. It is where she and her grandchildren spend most of the summer. She also built a stone columned fence.

In the Qu’Appelle Valley we saw an English garden in the middle of the prairie.  This is a huge garden on a farm where the farmer no longer raises cattle, but instead has recently added some alpacas. Together, he and his wife have built this garden dream, step by step, over the years. There is a pond, a paved split paved path, gazebos and every plant you can think of. They have a “Japanese” garden, a fairy garden, a rose garden and . . .an elegant outhouse!

Regina was next where the head of the hort society was busy experimenting with some fascinating garden methods, including growing indeterminate tomatoes along strings attached to overheard bars and starting plants on heating pads in garden sheds he has constructed in his back yard.

Saskatoon was last and here we visited what Shauna calls an “exuberant” gardener, a young woman, a teacher, who plants anything and everything food-oriented on every square inch of her property then mulches it all enthusiastically.

Watch for the full stories of these wonderful gardens in upcoming issues of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine and visit us at https://www.localgardener.net/