Lawn & Garden

LAWN Garden & SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2020 3 SPECIAL SECTION FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA! THE NEXT GENERATION OF GARDENERS! Prep Your Privacy Zones That backyard has to feel and look vacay-ready, so lay the groundwork by tending to elements that provide privacy and demarcate activity spaces. Mow the lawn and make sure your outdoor structures — fence, deck or stone patio — are in good repair. If your is fence low, consider topping it up with economical DIY lattice privacy panels. You'll find ideas and instructions online at woodworkersworkshop.com. Lawn furniture is next on the list. Does it need to be repaired, replaced, or just rearranged? Dividing your deck and yard into "rooms" with strategic furniture placement makes it more sociable. Need to replace it? Vinyl Adirondack chairs are reasonably priced, comfortable, stackable and washable. Like your early morning coffee al fresco? Go for a sweet cafe set with umbrella. STAY HOME IN STYLE Plan to enjoy summer in your own backyard vacation zone Since vacations have been upended this year, it's time to make a contingency plan. Use your vacation funds to create a staycation haven in your own backyard, with splurges and activities that will leave you with great holiday memories and a space to serve you for years to come. This spring, Manitobans aren't just accepting the concept of a staycation — they're embracing it, transforming their outdoor spaces into inviting destinations, planting fruit-bearing trees, preparing garden beds to grow vegetables and planning to reap a backyard bounty this fall. "There's a trend that's happening; we're get- ting back to our roots," says Carla Hrycyna, president and co-owner of St. Mary's Nurs- ery and Garden Centre, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. "What is happening in the world around us has made us more homebodies, and wanting to create that staycation backyard space. And maybe some of the space that is existing lawns is going to be reverting back to creating the victory gardens of years and years ago." More than a century ago, victory gardens grew out of a need to support the First World War effort. While vegetable gardening and companion skills such as home canning have seen a revival in recent years, Hrycyna says the trend toward self-sufficiency has become a boom in 2020. "People are looking for fruiting trees and shrubs right now — everyone is looking for apples and pears and blueberries and Saskatoons, and it brings us back to those gardens where it gives me a memory of my grandmother's garden and it kind of gives you that warm cozy feeling inside that says, 'Hey, you know what? There's a rationale for why they had these big gardens.' " You may not be able to call on your grand- parents for hands-on advice and assistance, but more than one generation of Manitobans has relied on the green thumbs at St. Mary's Nursery and Garden Centre to share their knowledge and expertise. "We've been helping to grow beautiful gar- dens for more than 35 years," Hrycyna says. Over time, St. Mary's has also grown, and the business has spread its own roots, becoming a popular shopping destination for fashion, gifts and home decor, as well as landscaping services, plants and garden supplies. This year has brought a unique set of chal- lenges as essential businesses adopt new health and safety protocols that require social distancing. Hrycyna says she looks forward to the day when entire families can visit the nursery together again. In the meantime, she and her staff are con- tinuing to help families design and develop personal landscapes they'll enjoy for years to come, along with a multitude of side ben- efits that gardens generate. "The backyard space is a haven in which we can create beauty, and we can enjoy the nature aspect of it," she says. "Because if we create a beautiful garden the nature will come — the birds will come, the bees will come, the butterflies will come." That's important if you're planting a veg- etable garden, whether it's a few plants on a patio or deck, a raised container garden or a traditional backyard space. "Part and parcel of growing food is having the flora and the fauna for the pollinators to make sure that both flourish. You have to have your pollinators to grow your food," Hrycyna says. "Who doesn't want fresh apple pie, or Saska- toon pie? And the secondary portion of it is how to take care of these fruits. It's building up the excitement of how you're going to be able to preserve your foods, do your canning, looking at recipes of what you can do with your bounty. Everyone's going to be filling their freezer with corn and peas." However you enjoy the fruits of your labours, Hrycyna says gardening is a win-win pursuit, providing both physical and spiritual rewards. "We're creating this environment that is go- ing to feed our bodies, feed our minds, and heal our hearts and our souls too." GROWING TRENDS Helping Manitobans create beautiful, bountiful gardens FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA! THE NEXT GENERATION OF GARDENERS! repair, replace rearrange STEP 1

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