A Prairie Odyssey Alan Beaven and the Tree Planting Car By Di-


anne Beaven. 178 pages, paperback, black and white. Published by Dianne Beaven. Dianne Beaven, retired executive director of the Manitoba Forestry Association, has written a reveal- ing chronicle about how the West was rescued by trees, helped by her father Alan Beaven. For 50 years, Canadian Forestry Association mem-


for Prairie Gardens Edible Plants


By June Flanagan. 238 pages. Pub- lished by Fifth House. Plants for Prairie Gardens by June Flana-


gan is a “must read” for both gardeners and chefs. June, who lives and gardens in Lethbridge, also wrote Native Plants for Prairie Gardens. She integrates her strong botanical background with local experi- ence and draws on over fifty cited refer- ences to provide us with a wealth of infor- mation. Her 240-page book is packed with valuable ideas concerning what to do, why, and when to do it. Sub-titled “The Best Fruits, Vegetables


and Herbs”, the book has three parts. Planning the garden area and planting, growing and harvesting edibles form the first section. The later chapters deal with plants for the seasonal garden, and plants for the permanent garden. The division into firstly, the seasonal


garden – annual vegetables and herbs, and, secondly, the permanent garden – peren- nial vegetables and herbs; fruiting shrubs and fruit trees – brings a new perspective to our world. We read elsewhere about grow- ing conditions for cool season and warm season grasses – approximately 25 degrees C differentiates the two – but I don’t think I have come across this emphasis in rela- tion to most edible plants: it ensures we examine gardening from this refreshing perspective, using, in part, other plant in- dicators to aid our timing decisions. The photographs are captivating, often mouth-watering – those raspberries and strawberries! There’s much in this book for both novice and experienced prairie gardeners. Many of us know how to grow things, but can learn a lot about optimiz- ing our harvest with June’s advice on pol- lination, seed collection, division, etc. The individual plant descriptions, arranged by common names, contain warnings as to when plants need special care. June Flanagan writes knowledgeably


on pests and diseases, on good and bad “bugs”, soil conditions and on pruning. As a Prairie gardener she has written with a deep understanding of our arid and extreme climate that has been rarely demonstrated in Canadian gardening books: the result is an informative, balanced and enjoyable book. -Reviewed by Glynn Wright.


www.localgardener.net


bers crisscrossed the Prairie provinces by train, edu- cating four generations about the value of planting trees. In a partnership with Canadian National Rail- ways, a railway car was set up as a ‘traveling school- house’, encouraging farmers to plant shelter belts to prevent the soil erosion that was such a devastating feature of the Great Depression and drought of the thirties. Alan Beaven was the longest serving lecturer on the train, dedicating twenty years


to the cause from 1926 to 1946. Diane traces the history of the project and person- alizes this outstanding undertaking through the eyes of her father and with many anecdotes about the life of the young family “riding the rails” in the early years and later growing up in St. Andrews. The thirties were very tough years for the CFA program. It was largely due to the dedication of Alan Beaven that it continued. Many times he went without pay. During its lifespan, the program stimulated the planting of half a billion trees on 100,000 farms. This not only preserved crop lands from wind erosion during fal- low years, trees also helped to create micro-climates conducive to the growing of vegetable and later flower gardens. Near the end of the book, Dianne tells the moving story of a man whose wife


was in the Weyburn mental institute. Perhaps, he told Alan Beaven, if he had just planted trees and a garden she would have been able to adjust to Prairie life. Indeed.


Growing up North


By Morris Bradburn. 170 pages, paperback black and white. Published by IUnivers Inc. Morris Bradburn recounts the poignant sto-


ry of his life as a child growing up in northern Manitoba at Oxford House, a community on the Oxford Lake, north east of the northern tip of Lake Winnipeg and 950 km north of Winnipeg. Oxford House was established as a fur trading post in 1798. Morris has a vivid recollection of his earliest


days at home before going south to school at 10 years old. His father was a successful trapper in the declining days of this trade and the family made its own living. They were happy, produc- tive and prosperous. It’s a very human story full of warmth and laughter and the lessons one learns in youth. Morris tells the story of how a child with learn-


ing disabilities was one day picked up by a plane and taken south to a residential school. The boy was returned a short time later, disoriented and traumatized. “He would sit on one spot for long periods of time rocking back and forth and then put- ting out his arms and asking, ‘Why? Why?’ as if someone was listening to him,” he writes. Morris says that the children who went to residential schools were never the same when they returned to the community but nobody would talk about it. This is an intimate look into the way it used to be “up north”. It takes the reader on a journey of discovery perhaps long overdue in our country.


Foodie 2012 • 27


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32