Gardening at Riel House MMGA – Coffee Morning 24 January 2015 John Frazer What is Riel House?

• History • Visitors • School tours • Parks • Institute • Gardens • Manitoba Master Gardener Association

Riel House Horticultural Areas Overall Gardening Goals

• Activities and plants appropriate to the era • Develop natural setting • Demonstrate various gardening techniques • Learning opportunity for visitors • Learning opportunity for volunteers • Low‐maintenance using sustainable gardening techniques Riel House and vegetable gardens

• Kitchen Garden and Produce Garden • Appropriate to the Riel family of the 1880’s • Harvest from Kitchen Garden used by interpreters and visitors • Harvest from Produce Garden donated

• Heritage plants, seeds and crops • Companion planting • Ground cover • Composting Entrance

• Road Garden, The Berm • Left and Right Entrance Gardens • Lily and iris beds • East Entrance Garden • Appropriate to the 1880s and Victorians

• Heritage plants • Opportunities for native prairie plantings • Minimize Kentucky blue grass Woodland

• Woodland Garden and path • Artifacts

• Understory native plants e.g. Soloman’s Seal • Pruning Tent Area and Parking Lot

• Tent Area –group meetings, annual corn roast • Parking Lot

• Opportunities for native prairie plantings • Minimize Kentucky blue grass • Dry and wet areas Volunteers during 2013 John Frazer– MMGA Dawn Hicks – MMGA Lynn Lepage ‐ MMGA Darlene Mailhot ‐ MMGA Judy Schwartz – Gardens of Manitoba Volunteers during 2014 Sue Bernjak ‐ MMGA Ursula Buller ‐ MMGA Lori Fraser ‐ MMGA John Frazer– MMGA Dawn Hicks – MMGA Madeline Maher‐ MMGA Judy Schwartz – Gardens of Manitoba “honourary” Master Gardeners

* easy to get 40 volunteer hours pre‐ requisite to MG exam Activities and Results from 2013

• Re‐established the Kitchen and Produce Gardens • Chicken wire around Kitchen Garden • Asparagus, herbs, carrots, onions, peas • Corn, potatoes, beans • Pruning

• Planted Victorian‐era flowers in Left and Right Entrance Gardens

• 265 pounds to Winnipeg Harvest 2013: Left Entrance Garden Clematis Jackmanii Yarrow Achillea Pinks Dianthus x ‘Frosty Fire’ Peony Paeonia ‘Bowl of Beauty’ 2013: Right Entrance Garden Clematis Jackmanii Columbine Aquilegia ‘McKana Giant’ and Aquilegia vulgaris ‘Black Barlow’ Hollyhock Alcea ‘Queeny Purple’ Geranium Geranium phaeum ‘Samobor’ Mourning Widow Cranesbill Foxglove Digitalis purpurea ‘Camelot Lavender’ Ostrich Fern Matteuccia struthiopteris Challenges in 2013

• Scope • Activities • Workload • Rabbits, rabbits, rabbits Activities during 2014

• Gardens rabbit‐proofed –it worked! • Multi‐year proposal to Parks Canada re native plants • Heritage beans, tomatoes, squash • Carrots, onions, cucumbers, pumpkins • Three Sisters technique ‐ corn, squash and beans • Path through Woodland • Layout and preparation of Road Garden • Iris and lily beds • Virginia Creeper along fence line Results

• Approval by Parks Canada of multi‐year proposal for native plants • 501 pounds to Winnipeg Harvest in 2014 (265 pounds in 2013) • Road Garden prepared for spring planting • Gardening shed improved • Neighbours watch over us • Plants, advice, leaves Challenges

• Late spring • Too wet, too dry, too wet • Slippery when wet, rock hard when dry • Difficult to monitor; tough to weed • Demanding watering schedule • Crows eating plant tags • When to harvest, what to harvest • Too many beans, not enough potatoes • Erratic spacing in Produce Garden • Artifacts in Woodland Garden Produce Garden

2013 2014 Entrance Gardens

2013 2014 Road Garden

2013 2014 Iris and Lily Beds at Entrance

Irises from the Road Garden Lilies from the neighbour Looking ahead to 2015

• Kitchen Garden ‐ eight beds 4’ x 10’ • Produce Garden ‐ 28 beds 4’ x 22’ • defined paths • raised beds • chop and drop • Heritage seed propagation • no‐rototill, no‐dig 2015: Eight Beds in Kitchen Garden for example #1 asparagus (3rd year), rhubarb and herbs #2 carrots and onions #3 lettuce #4 tomatoes #5 beans #6 beans #7 potatoes #8 potatoes 2015: 28 Beds in Produce Garden for example

#1 beans #2 beans #3 corn, beans and squash #4 corn, beans and squash #5 corn, beans and squash #6 corn, beans and squash #7 corn, beans and squash #8 corn, beans and squash #9 potatoes #10 potatoes #11 potatoes #12 potatoes #13 potatoes #14 potatoes #15 potatoes #16 potatoes #17 potatoes #18 potatoes #19 potatoes #20 potatoes #21 Heritage Seeds #22 potatoes #23 Heritage Seeds #24 potatoes #25 Heritage Seeds #26 sunflowers and cucumbers #27 sunflowers and cucumbers #28 sunflowers and cucumbers 2015: Finish planting the Road Garden

• False Sunflower (Tall) • Giant Hyssop (Tall) • Wild Bergamot • Purple Prairie Clover • Showy Goldenrod • Heartleaf Alexander • Yarrow • Three Flowered Avens • Prairie Coneflower • Prairie Dropseed Grass 2015: Expand native plantings

• compost and five‐way soil mix, mulch • Parking Garden? • East Entrance Garden? • The Berm?

• Volunteers? • Work Bees? 2015: More techniques

• Companion planting • Cover crops • Plant tagging • Bat house • Hugelkultur . . . in summary. . .

. . . volunteers ...... plants ...... compost bin ...... toolshed and tools . . . Results

• Restoration of gardens • Activities and plants appropriate to the 1880’s • Plants appropriate to Manitoba • Gardening techniques on view for visitors • Hands on experience for volunteers Thanks!

John Frazer –Master Gardener [email protected] Background Material • Anderson, M. K. (2006). Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California's Natural Resources. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. • Davies, J. (1991). The Victorian Flower Garden. New York: W.W. Norton. • Gabion Machine (Uploaded on May 4, 2008). “Retrieved January 19, 2015 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZnU6JlhshU” • Geoff Lawton (© 2014 Geoff Lawton Pty. Ltd). “Retrieved January 19, 2015, from www.geofflawton.com” • Hemenway, T. (2009). Gaia's Garden 2nd edition, A Guide to Home‐Scale Permaculture. White River Junction, Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing Company. • Lowenfels, J. & Lewis, W. (2006). Teaming with Microbes. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. • Mann, C. C. (2011). 1491 New revelations in the Americas before Columbus. New York: Vintage Books. • Mann, C. C. (2011). 1493 Uncovering the New World Columbus Created. New York: Knopf. • Naturescape Manitoba Committee (Eds.) (2006). Naturescape Manitoba. Winnipeg: Manitoba Naturalists Society. • Norwich Heart –Barnards Limited (Amended by Nick Williams March 2008). “Retrieved January 19, 2015 from http://www.heritagecity.org/research‐ centre/industrial‐innovation/barnards.htm” • Prairie Originals (© 2009 Prairie Originals). “Retrieved January 19, 2015, from http://prairieoriginals.com” • Riel House National Historic Site of Canada (Date Modified 2013‐01‐22). “Retrieved January 19, 2015, from http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn‐ nhs/mb/riel/visit.aspx” • Sheather, K. & Davies, J. (2006). The Victorian Kitchen Garden (13‐part BBC television series). © BBC Worldwide Limited.