MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
First and foremost, I would like to welcome and congratulate the newly elected board members: Marie Grouette as Volunteer Coordinator, Loressa Klassen as Secretary and Sandy Venton as Member at Large. All other board members whose positions were up for election have been re - elected. A big thank you goes out to the parting board members for their dedication, contributions to the organisation and their hard work: Co-chair Colleen Zacharias, Education Director Elsie Kathler, Member at Large Karen Loewen and Secretary Jane Zoutman.
It is with some regret that I have to inform the membership that Darlene Belton has resigned her position as Co-chair. I would like to thank Darlene for her substantial contribution as Volunteer Coordinator and her willingness to stand as Co-chair. The board will meet in August to discuss the election of a new Co-chair.
This time of year is very busy for everyone in the garden but at the same time the rewards of our knowledge and efforts are felt. I hope everyone is enjoying the outdoors either in their garden or visiting other gardens on the various garden tours. Don’t miss our next event, the MMGA Garden Tour.
A large number of gardening books were donated to us. These belonged to a Master Gardener from Ontario who passed away some years ago and her husband, Mr. Coates, thought we would like them. As we do not maintain a library we shall be selling them on the member login page of our website at very low prices. Although they are older books many of them contain valuable information. I would like to thank Mr. Coates for thinking of us.
Darlene and I have been working with Parks Canada to help with the produce garden at Riel House. Currently students from the Louis Riel Institute are gardening with advice and help from Master Gardeners and MGIT’s. This plan seems to be working out; we shall see by the produce at the end of the season. I would like to recommend a visit to this very interesting site. John Frazer, Dawn Hicks and their team continue to care for some of the garden areas.
Finally, I would like to remind our membership to do three things:
1. Divide and pot up plants for our summer sale on the garden tour
2. Encourage a friend to consider becoming a Master Gardener
3. Look out for beautiful gardens this summer to recommend for the 2020 Garden Tour and let Shelley Walker, Special Events Director, know at sdwalker@mgmanitoba.com
Diana Dhaliwal, MMGA Chair
dianadhaliwal@mgmanitoba.com
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GARDEN TOUR 2019
The seventh Annual MMGA Garden Tour July 20th, 2019
Help us make this year’s Garden Tour another success. Invite friends, neighbours and relatives! Pass along the details to your garden club. Let everyone know about the tour on July 20, 2019 from 9am-4pm.
There are 9 unique gardens to enjoy and get inspiration from and our Plant Sale will be hosted at one of the gardens.
Tickets are available online and at the following locations listed on our website.
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BEWARE OF VALERIANA OFFICINALIS
Valeriana officinalis (common names: garden heliotrope, garden valerian, common valerian, greek valerian) is classified as an alien species in North America, having been introduced from outside its normal distribution. It is a plant native to...
Read on here
Elizabeth Sellors, Master Gardener
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CALIFORNIA SUPERBLOOM
As experienced in spring 2019 by Master Gardener Gary Krushel
California was experiencing a “super bloom” this year. What is a “super bloom”? It’s a veritable explosion of wildflowers occurring at a number of locations across the state. As most of us have heard, seeds can lie dormant for years waiting...
Read on here
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Straw Bale Gardening at Oakview Place
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MASTER GARDENERS IN ACTION
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Oak View Place Garden Project and Garden Club
As a result of a posting on the MMGA website in 2018 I responded to a request from Oakview Place to liaise with their recreation directors to assist in the maintenance of a green space and the development of...
Read on here
Lois Mclennan, Master Gardener
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Presentation at Government House
On June 4, 2019, at the invitation of Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba the Honourable Janice C. Filmon, Tiffany Grenkow and I spoke about this year’s “Growing Food” issue of The Prairie Garden at one of Her Honour’s regular Conversations and Celebrations events at Government House, Winnipeg. As editor, I told the audience about our publication’s long history since 1937 and its many prominent Manitoba contributors like Frank L. Skinner and Lynn Collicutt. Guest editor Tiffany Grenkow of the South Osborne Community Commons then gave an inspiring talk about growing food in Manitoba. The evening concluded with great music from members of the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, followed by refreshments.
The editorial committee of The Prairie Garden currently includes several other Master Gardeners and Master Gardeners in Training: Darlene Belton, Lynne McCarthy, Sarah Piercy, Susanne Simpson, and Sandy Venton. Committee chair Ian Wise is a well-known instructor in the MG program. We meet on the first Wednesday evening of the month. Interested in garden writing? Come visit and see what we’re about. Contact: editor@theprairiegarden.ca
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Last call for plants for our MMGA Plant Sale!
(July 20th in conjunction with the MMGA Garden Tour)
Pot up those seedlings, plant divisions, and those plants you no longer want.
Give them a chance for a new home (rather than the compost pile!) and help out the MMGA.
Potted plants with names (and preferably the botanical name) can be dropped off at Diana’s place, 1634 Wellington Crescent, R3N 0B3 any day between Sunday, July 7th and Thursday July 18th.
If you have any questions about plants, delivery, etc. call Diana at 204-881-1634 (cell)
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St. Vital Agricultural Fair, August 10 and 11, 2019
Volunteers needed for our information table. Please contact Marie Grouette at mrsmfg@shaw.ca
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The Prairie Garden committee is looking for a treasurer who also likes gardening! This volunteer member will monitor the finances of committee, attend monthly meetings as an officer, and provide financial leadership. Please note that no bookkeeping is involved, as there is already a bookkeeper who manages the financial records and handles ongoing sales transactions. Training will be provided, but candidates should preferably have some experience with computerized accounting systems. Monthly time commitment is estimated to be about 20 hours maximum, depending on experience and initiative. If interested, please contact the committee chair, Ian Wise, at chair@theprairiegarden.ca.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
MG Events
Saturday, July 20, 2019 9 am - 4 pm MMGA Annual Garden Tour
Online tickets
Saturday, September 14, 2019, Master Gardener Programm Orientation
Time to be posted on our website as soon as the information is available
Canadian Mennonite University South Campus Conference Room
600 Shaftesbury Blvd, Winnipeg MB R3P 2N2
Saturday, September 21, 2014, 10 am Tree walk-about with nurseryman Sheldon Falk
We will start at Falk Nurseries at 10 am and then travel to Sheldon's home property which is located 20 minutes away. Falk Nurseries specializes in a vast number of hardy trees, all of which are clearly labeled. It is located in New Bothwell, 2.3 Miles East of Hwy 59 on 311. Sheldon Falk trials many hardy tree varieties on his home property including many unique varieties which are grown at NDSU Arboretum and represent the latest improvements in breeding for hardiness on the Prairies. This will be a fascinating tour with an emphasis on tree identification and the importance of tree diversity. Car-pooling is encouraged!
Community Gardening Events
Saturday, July 27, 2019 11am - 3pm Niverville Inaugural "Better Gnomes and Garden Tour"
More information here
August 9 and 10, 2019 St. Vital Agricultural Fair
More information August 9 here and 10 here
Frequently check the calendar at the bottom of our homepage for more gardening related events and event updates
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GOOD READS AND RESOURCES
Darlene Belton recommends the good news about the Monarch population size of last winter
Linda Dietrick recommends this article about Why not to plant tropical Milkweed
Jo Swartz and Lisa Renner recommend the Grow me instead brochures from Manitoba, Northern Ontario and Saskatchewan
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REDUCE: WATER WISE GARDENING AND XERISCAPING
Conserve Water by Landscape Design
Try to grow on flat ground or to terrace steeply sloped land so that the water will not run off so fast.
Create shade for sun-sensitive plants....
Read on here
Diana Dhaliwal, Master Gardener
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IMAGE CREDITS
- BANNER PHOTO, POPPY, GARDEN SCENE WITH PEONY: JO SWARTZ
- VALERIAN: ELIZABETH SELLORS
- CALIFORNIA POPPIES: GARY KRUSHEL
- STRAW BALE GARDENING, WALL GARDENING: LOIS MCLENNAN
- PRESENTATION AT GOVERNMENT HOUSE: USED WITH PERMISSION
- GARDEN SCENE WITH GEESE: PAUL MARTENS
- CALENDULA: LAVERNE DAHLIN
- BLUE EYED GRASS, WATERING-HOSE: LISA RENNER
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