What’s New In The Gardening Community?

Free T-Shirt With Your 2027 EKGC Membership

As part of the East Kildonan Garden Club’s 60th Anniversary, we are including a free t-shirt when you get a 2027 EKGC Membership. Click on the attached PDF for details. If you just need the order form, click here.

Junior Gardening Club T-Shirt Offer

As part of our 60th Anniversary, the East Kildonan Garden Club is offering the Junior Gardeners Club members a youth t-shirt at a reduced cost of $5.00. See the bulletin for all of the information.

nEWS

Guest Speaker: Laura Reeves “Edible and Medicinal Garden Weeds”

On October 13, 2026, Laura Reeves from Prairie Shore Botanicals gave a talk on Edible and Medicinal Weeds. She is a botanist and the author of “Laura Reeves “Guide To Useful Plants”. She advises to avoid picking from the river banks because there is residue from farming chemicals in the soil.

Dandelions: The flowers can be dipped in a mix of pancake batter and whatever spice you want and then fry then in a pan with some oil, like a fritter. The dandelion leaves can be used as a leafy green which is high in iron but pick ones that are grown in the shade as they will be less bitter. The leaves have a medicinal benefit that it stimulates digestion and is used for cleansing/detox. Use medium sized roots for tea (finger width size). Spray the dirt off with a hose and then wash again in the house to get clean. Simmer the tea for about 20 minutes. You can also roast Dandelion roots. It produces a coffee/chocolate flavour. Best time to pick is in the spring before it flowers as all the energy is in the roots. Cut the roots into 1/2 inch pieces. Large pieces cut in half again and roast in the oven for approx. 2 hours at 225-250 temperature. The roots will go from white to a dark colour all the way through. You can use it as a coffee/tea or you can grind the roasted roots in a blender and use it for chocolate flavouring like cacao for baking.

Laura provided information about the amazing uses and qualities of plants such as: Sow Thistle Weed, Burdock, Pineapple Weed, Common Chickweed, Stinging Needle, Red Clover, Wild Raspberry, Lamb’s Quarter, Pig Weed, Wild Portulaca, Golden Rod and Dock. Each of these plants has a different use whether for eating, as a sauve, tea etc. Different medicinal uses. You can get more information by clicking on her website. She has on line classes. She has 120 species of prairie and woodland plants available but she is not open to the public. You can order plants on line or check to see when she at the Steinbach and District Farmers Market.

Laura also recommends 2 other books (besides her own) Wild Plants by Lee Allen Peterson and The Forager’s Harvest by Samuel Thayer.

EKGC Donates To Manitoba Harvest

EKGC has maintained a garden plot at the Millennium Gardens, 260 Douglas Av. for many years. Club Members Teresa and Bruce (center of photo) tend to the garden each year. They grew a small amount of tomatoes and have a Spinach Tree but the main focus was celery. The Junior Gardeners Club dropped in and planted some marigolds. Teresa and Bruce looked after the celery farm all season and on Sept 16, 2026 Ed and Glen dropped by to help dig it up. The celery was loaded into a pickup truck and 136 lbs was dropped off at Manitoba Harvest.

Private Tour of the Gardens at Kildonan Park

On August 22, 2026 our members had the opportunity to have a private tour of Kildonan Park Gardens with Alyssa. Alyssa not only works in the Kildonan Park Gardens but she is also a member of the EKGC. We visited the front Formal Gardens and the North Garden. It was absolutely wonderful to see the gardens and the amazing display. Once again thank you Alyssa for sharing your knowledge with us.

On August 11, 2026 our members had the opportunity to have a private tour of Prairie Originals with the owner Kelly Leask. Kelly moved her business out to this location off Hwy 59, 2 years ago and it was very interesting to see how she has been developing the property and experimenting with how she grows her native prairie plants. One of the unique features is that she has a section which consists of fully grown plants. She uses this section to harvest seeds. You can buy your small plant in the retail section but you are able to see what it will look like when it is fully matured. It was a very enjoyable time. Mark it down as one of your garden centres to go visit. Prairie Originals is in our sponsor page under Club Info.

This is a members only event. A member can decide to open their yard up for other members to see and enjoy. The member picks the date as to when they would like to have a pop up garden tour. An email is sent out to members and it may only give a few days notice which is fine. The member picks the hours that they want to have members visit.  There is no cost, it is a free event.

Jan G. has a great back yard every year. Even though her swimming pool sprung a leak and drowned out part of the yard, she was able to rebound and you would never know that anything happened. Thank you Jan for having a Pop Up Garden.

Elizabeth E. has a yard that is simply a treat for the eyes. Her flowers were massive and amazing. Thank you Elizabeth for having a Pop Up Garden.

Igor K. has a spectacular collection of flowers. He has been a guest lecturer in 2026 and 2025. Here are some of the flowers in his yard. Thank you Igor for having a Pop Up Garden Tour.

Linda and Chris S. have a very special yard. There is a wonderful use of pinks and blues. Everything looked great including the immaculate lawn. Thank you Linda and Chris for having a Pop Up Garden Tour.

Zofia P. has a garden that takes your breath away when you walk in through the back gate. it is just amazing as to what her garden has to offer. Thank you Zofia for having a Pop Up Garden Tour.

Susan F. showed us how you can have a beautiful garden when you have a condominium based yard. Well done. Thank you Susan for having a Pop Up Garden Tour.

Alex has a unique front garden. He is on the corner of 2 streets and he has created a great spot to sit and enjoy. Thank you Alex for having a Pop Up Garden Tour.

Cornelia opened her yard up to us at the perfect time. Some of her flowers were at their very best. Thank you Cornelia for having a Pop Up Garden Tour.

Deborah is a new member of the EKGC but she is an experienced gardener. A hidden oasis. Thank you Deborah for having a Pop Up Garden.

October 3, 2026 Scarecrow Fest

4th and Final session: Sept 1, 2026

Thank you Alyssa for spending the time hosting our Junior Club and showing them around the gardens at Kildonan Park. Big thank you to Pam, Linda W. and France for organizing the supplies and snacks. The kids had fun learning about special plants and herbs. They tried to play with the ducks. Their craft was creating beautiful bouquets of pressed flowers and they received certificates and special cupcakes.

3rd Session: August 5, 2026

The Junior Garden Club had a meet and learn at Millennium Gardens. Thank you, Kiyoko, for introducing young gardeners to pollinators. The young gardeners toured The Millennium Gardens, observing pollinators in their environment. Special thanks to Linda, Teresa and Pam as the organizers.

Each young attendant made butterfly origami with guidance from Kiyoko. They did an excellent job! There was lots of other crafts for children to enjoy. Thank you to parents and grandparents for being there and being part of it.

Future gardeners gathered in Millennium Gardens for the 2nd Session of the Junior Gardeners Club. The kids enjoyed playing in the dirt. It did not matter that it was very wet after lots of rain the previous day. They planted pumpkins, basil, tomato plants and marigolds. Planting at the Millenium Gardens is for Winnipeg Harvest and they took plants home for their own gardens. A big thank you to Schriemer’s Market Centre for the plant donations.

A brand new Junior Garden Club has been created by the EKGC. They held their first meeting at the West Kildonan Library on Saturday May 2. The 15 gardeners ranged in ages from 3-12 and they got the opportunity to make a garden art piece with succulents for Mother’s Day. There are 3 more events planned over the spring/summer/fall. A big thank you to Rory from Dads Woodworking Garage for the wooden planters (see sponsor page). Angela Moisey for the moss, bark and rocks (see sponsor page). Darby for the succulents, Pam for the kid’s aprons gloves, paint supplies, France for pansies and butterflies, Linda for snacks and extras. This would not have been possible without the organizers / leaders Cornelia, Roswitta and Linda.

Valley Gardens Community Club hosted a family fun day and our EKGC participated by providing a free activity for the kids. We had 3 tables where they could paint rocks, make a fairy garden and plant morning glory seeds in a small pot. The kids could pick out 3 different flowers or plants and then decorate their fairy garden with rocks, sea shells and other fun things. There were numerous kids who had never planted anything before. 74 fairy gardens were created. Thanks to the volunteers: Roswitha N. Linda S. Jan G. Angela M. and Glen Smyth

Our annual Plant Sale was a success. 351 people walked through the doors and we don’t think anyone left empty handed. The plant sale only works when there are members who are willing to organize, volunteer and participate. Members grew plants from seeds, did some plant sitting, divided their perennials and arranged donations for the fabulous silent auction prizes. A special thanks to everyone who helped out and for those who attended and bought from the sale.

The Sponsors were fantastic in their support of our Plant Sale. Here they are:

Superior Soil donated bags of soil which was outside and the following people and businesses provided donations inside the centre.

Buller Greenhouse -University of Manitoba

The Buller Greenhouse is part of the Science Dept at the University of Manitoba. It is located at 45A Sifton Rd. 204-474-9799. Check out the Friends of Buller Greenhouse facebook page for more information.https://www.facebook.com/BullerGreenhouse/

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