Wendy Brigden hosting garden tour supporting Clandeboye United Church
Our region might be well known for its chilly winters but summers in Manitoba are a beautiful time of year. With gardening season now in full bloom, Master Gardener Wendy Brigden is hosting a Garden Tour at her home in Petersfield to bring together new and seasoned gardeners alike.
“We’ve opened up our yard for people to come and be able to look through the gardens and see what’s planted and maybe see what direction they’re planted in. [The tour] can maybe give them some ideas of how they can put flowers in their own yard,” said Brigden.
She explained that this is an opportunity to find inspiration for interesting ways of planting plants and possibly to ask questions and learn more about gardening from someone with an education in the subject.
Brigden is a master gardener who received her qualification in 2017. She took classes at Assiniboine College through their program, however, for people who are versed in online learning the Manitoba Master Gardener Association also has an option which allows people to take the program online.
“It’s absolutely amazing what you learn. [There’s a class where] you learn leaf identification and when you start that course they say to you, ‘You’ll never look at a leaf again the same way.’ They’re absolutely right,” said Brigden.
She explained that though she’s only had her qualification as a master gardener for six years, she’s been gardening for much longer.
“We live out in the country. We’ve been here since 1977. We cleared our property with an axe and a chainsaw then started putting in the flower beds as we’ve lived here. Then in 2007, I was able to purchase two sets of grow lights. Since then, I’ve been growing most of my own plants downstairs,” said Brigden.
She explained that it’s passion that has her growing her garden year after year.
“There’s nothing more exciting than when you plant a seed and you see it germinate because you’ve done that yourself,” said Brigden.
There will be a lot of variety to see at Brigden’s garden tour as her garden is quite varied. She has a cottage-type garden in one area, perennials, a shade garden and a small vegetable garden.
She hopes that visitors enjoy seeing her space.
“When you go through it, you may see a flower or a flowerbed that may be suited to your own garden or there’s a possibility of seeing two colours that go together or two plants that go together. Unless you see it in someone else’s garden, you may not be able to visualize it yourself,” said Brigden.
She encourages residents in our area to give gardening a shot.
“I’ve never referred to my flower beds as my flower beds. I refer to them as my therapy beds. You just get in there and you forget everything and you look after your plants. It’s very serene. I love it and I’m very lucky that my husband likes the yard looking just as nice as I do and he’s a great help,” said Brigden.
She says that anyone coming by will be able to ask her questions and there will be a handout that gives more information about certain plants and details about their characteristics if people want to learn more.
“Everybody’s welcome and I know even experienced gardeners, you always get ideas by looking at what somebody else has done. It might just be a case of you not having tried that in your own yard. As far as the beginner gardener, our yard’s been here for a long time, it can be overwhelming but you have to remember when you’re a beginner gardener, start small,” said Brigden.
Brigden’s garden tour will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. on July 28 at 213 Bouchard Rd. There is no charge but silver collection is accepted in support of the Clandeboye United Church.
