The Gardener with Dorothy Dobbie / Issues in the News

Guest Sherrie Versluis, the bird lady of Winnipeg and owner of the Preferred Perch, talks about all the bird varieties we are seeing this spring and tells why they seem to be so prominent. One of the highlights we have encountered is an indigo bunting, a dark blue bird that is not often seen here.
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This week, we take a walk through the garden of Shannon Gage, well, at least through the garden in her mind’s eye as we are locked down once again. Shannon has been gardening since she was a girl. And for her post secondary school, she studied landscape design at Olds College in Alberta. Since then, she has created a jewel of a garden in her backyard in River Heights, and she shares some of the lessons she learned.

We visit the International Peace Garden with CEO, Tim Chapman. The International Peace Garden straddles the border between North Dakota and Manitoba, just about 20 minutes south of Boissevain, Manitoba. It was the dream of Dr. Henry Moore of Islington, Ontario who belonged to an international horticulture association. Dr. Moor realised the idea and a meeting in New York in 1928 and the following year, at a meeting in Toronto, the deal was done.

Get ready, get set . . .garden

Host Dorothy Dobbie interviews T&T Seeds owner Kevin Twomey about getting ready to garden in early May. Manitobans find it hard to believe that gardeners from coast to coast to coast wait until the May 24th long weekend to start their gardens in earnest. Beginning earlier for many plants, both flowers and vegetables, can result in failure or at least stunted plants. That is because the soil may still be too cold or because little plantlings are sensitive to conditions that extend beyond the temperature. They can get chilled from cold winds. Fungus can grow and kill delicate stems if the ground is still too wet. Kevin advises to curb your enthusiasm. He often doesn’t get his crop of veggies in until June because he is busy in the store, but he ends up with a great harvest. 

What’s coming up for summer

Shea Doherty of Our Farm Greenhouses in Portage La Prairie is the inaugural guest of the first episode 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.

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