For most of my life, I lived in garden hardiness zone 10. Now I live in hardiness zone 3. Big difference, right? No kidding. Lol
When I started my horticultural journey, some 20 years ago in Southern California, the garden centers and nurseries were filled with a plethora of plant choices and they still are.
During those 20 years, I was still harvesting crops in November and pruning my roses in January!
THE GREAT WHITE NORTH
From November to March, the ground is covered with a thick blanket of white and utterly frozen. Only at the beginning of May does everything melt and the air warm up enough to safely expose seedlings to it.
Here in Manitoba, we may have a much shorter growing season but the number of sunlit hours we get per day is astounding compared to what I was used to, with it being so much closer to the North Pole.
Here in Manitoba, we may have a much shorter growing season but the number of sunlit hours we get per day is astounding compared to what I was used to, with it being so much closer to the North Pole.
Throughout the summer months, the sun rises at 4:30am and doesn’t set until around 11pm. So, the amount and duration of sunlight that our crops enjoy each day make them grow by leaps and bounds!
Clearly, mother nature’s way of balancing the scales for us Northern gardeners. Haha
But this meant that there was an entirely new timeline that I needed to learn to follow, in terms of growth rates and yields of different crops.
As well as what plants I could grow in the ground vs. in pots, and whether or not I could store them safely indoors during the winter months.
THE LEARNING CURVE
I had to start from scratch as if I never gardened before. So crazy! After speaking with a few locals when I first moved here, I heard a lot of “No, you can’t grow that here.” “Those don’t grow here, they’ll die.”
I began to get the slight impression that some had just given up on any kind of ambitious gardening in Manitoba.
I understood the harsh climate, especially after enduring my first winter here. They don’t call this town “Winterpeg” for nothing. But, I tend to be a bit obstinant about these things.
I definitely had the will to grow plants found outside of the common Manitoba prairie repertoire, now I just had to find a way.
It was just a matter of learning to work ‘with’ mother nature, sometimes perhaps ‘around’ her but never against her. She’ll always win. She’s bigger than me.
FIGURING IT OUT
Through several growing seasons in Manitoba and a lot of trial and error, I’ve learned a great many things.
I’m growing far more from seed than I ever did before and I’m really starting to see a positive side to gardening in a more harsh climate.
There are certain perennials that I just can’t leave in the ground, so I’m learning to create beautiful container combinations.
Then I simply prune them back and keep them in the cool but not frozen basement so they can experience their much-needed dormancy period.
By diligently following this process, paying close attention to the variant temperature, light and moisture levels required by each type of plant, I can also keep more tropical varieties.
I have always loved like Brugmansia (Brugmansia suaveolens) and Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea glabra choisy).
During the summer, in Southern Manitoba, temperatures often reach those similar to a hot Las Vegas day, except with high humidity. So, my more tropical varieties feel right at home.
The perennials I feel confident leaving in the ground are our blueberry (vaccinium), haskap (lonicera caerulea) and rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum) hedges.
Rhubarb grows like a weed up here. You see it growing out of cracks behind old buildings and such, it’s nuts! lol
Roses, that are bred for the cold, thrive here. Peonies (Paeonia )and tiger lilies (Lilium lancifolium), I find, do really well, too. Especially if we get a lot of snow.
The snow actually acts as an insulator for the root systems, protecting them from the cold. Something being protected from the cold by frozen snow sounds completely counter-intuitive but that’s how it works!
GARDENING in MANITOBA is NOT SO DIFFERENT AFTER ALL
In addition to learning how to grow old favourites here, I’ve also discovered that here I can grow plants that I’ve always loved the look of but could never grow in a desert-like climate.
I’m having great fun with fuschias, hostas, ferns, bleeding hearts, heuchera, coleus, and Japanese Maples, all of which I have incorporated into our ever-developing shade garden.
So, if you happen to find yourself, as a gardener, in a new environment or you didn’t think having your dream garden was possible, living in a harsher climate, keep in mind…
…just as plants need three things to thrive (sunlight, water and nutrients), having a garden that brings you joy, no matter where you live also requires just three things. Passion, gumption, and a little obstinance.
SPRING GARDEN TOURS
- Gardens at The Leaf
(Assiniboine Park-Winnipeg) - The Toronto Flower Show
at Canada Blooms - Van Dusen Botanical Garden
(Vancouver, BC)
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Fellow Southern Manitoban here – I have been on the hunt for information on how to keep a Bougainvillea alive here! I love the punch of colour they add. I even have a Bougainvillea print up in my kitchen. 🥰
Do you have any tips or hints on how grow one here? I read above that you bring yours indoors and keep it in a cool place in the winter which makes sense. How big would yours get in the summer months? I appreciate any advice you may have, including where to find one!
Well, hello fellow Southern Manitoban! 😀 I’m so glad to hear that you’d like to grow tropicals here. I’m still studying growing Bougainvillea as well as Brugmansia and others. Back in SoCal they can grow to enormous sizes if you let them be. But, because here we need to bring them inside in the winter, it’s a whole different ball game. Not impossible though, I’ve seen on various gardening forums that people in Manitoba have successfully grown them. So, I’m hopeful. As soon as I’ve figured it out, I’ll certainly publish my findings in a comprehensive format. Thanks so much for reaching out!