Highway 6 rises out of Winnipeg
like a broken arrow on the way to Thompson. Then it splits off to an all- weather road that meanders through the muskeg to Lynn Lake, once home of syndicated cartoonist Lynn Johnson, creator of For Better or For Worse. In the north, between the sparse endless
towns, hidden lakes nestle
among the glacial rock that time left behind, silent and secret, waiting for discovery by intrepid canoeists. Miles and miles of virgin white and black spruce forests, some slipping into the discontinuous muskeg, guard treasures of gold and nickel, lead, zinc, silver and, it is rumoured, unfound diamonds. There is gold, too, in the vast resource of water “mined” by Manitoba Hydro to send power south to Winnipeg and beyond. The midnight train from Thompson
Sunset at Matheson Island.
by giant elms. It is the gateway to the aptly named Parkland region and towns such as Roblin, Russell and Dauphin. Stop in Birtle on the way north to see spectacular gardens beside streets lined with feathery tamarack giants. Part of the glacier’s legacy is Riding
Mountain National Park. Once the home of Grey Owl, it rises 756 metres (2,480 feet) above sea level, towering over the farms and villages below. The town of Wasagaming on the edge of the park has a wonderful garden at its visi- tor’s centre and there are other gardens along the beaches of Clear Lake, a crys- tal clear body of water surrounded by cottages. Lake Dauphin, a few miles north
of the park is edged on the south by white, sandy Rainbow beach. Shaded by aspen, birch and spruce, the land is stony but that didn’t deter the Irish and French, and later the Ukranians from building their futures here with “the Mountain” as a lovely backdrop to their activities. There are only two major roads
that lead north. Highway 10 follows the gravelly esker ridge skirting Duck Mountain Provincial Park, site of Mount Baldy, the highest point in Manitoba at 832 metres (2,730 feet). Then the highway leads north to Swan River, The Pas and finally fabled Flin Flon, birthplace of hockey heroes and legions of untold riches beneath its streets. Under the ground is a honey- comb of abandoned mines, searched for gold and then for richer veins of other minerals.
16 • Fall 2016
wends its way north, swaying through the eerie land to the Port of Churchill, lazing in the shelter of Hudson’s Bay. Near the town, dwarf spruce trees peter out, their branches pointing everlast- ingly south, thanks to the prevailing winds. A mile or two further north on the beach of the bay, in and around the town, polar bears stray, scrounging food from human garbage and send- ing thrills of fear and wonder through the hearts of curious world travel- lers. In spring the tundra landscape, though treeless, awakens with a flush of dazzling colour from the endless vistas of tiny flowers, small shrubs and lichens that feed on the rock and the detritus of their ancestors. There is even a Boreal Garden, a privately owned experimen- tal arctic research garden and green- house where produce is grown. South again, Lake Manitoba narrows
where it meets Lake Winnipeg and is spanned by a bridge that lifts the driver into a place where the sky and water seem to meld, and all that holds you to the earth are the tires on the pavement beneath your car. This is the Interlake district. Down between the lakes the charac-
ter of the farms and villages becomes coastal, with fishing villages next to farm communities. Matheson Island, accessible by ferry, is a step back in time to when fishing for the delicate flesh of pickerel was everything. And further south still, Gimli is the centre of the district once declared the Republic of New Iceland. The Viking spirit is cele- brated in festivals and monuments. And still we haven’t gone to Portage
la Prairie, to Neepawa or Minnedo- sa, all wonderful garden towns, each
A young buck surveys the landcape in Pinawa.
pretty and full of fascinating opportu- nities such as the lily fields of Neepawa or Island Park Arboretum in Portage. There’s been no time to travel to the bedroom community of Stonewall, site of an abandoned quarry. Just north of Winnipeg, the beaches
of Lake Winnipeg attract thousands of weekenders to their shining white sands that also host some surpris- ingly lovely gardens. In Selkirk, visit the garden-like setting of Lower Fort Garry. Near Lockport, St. Andrews on The Red is the oldest stone church in Western Canada. On the eastern side of the lakes,
where cottagers from Winnipeg flee abandonley toward their destinations each summer weekend, the rocky edge of the Canadian Shield produces some stunning gardens. Even though the soil is thin, westerly winds off the lakes mitigate the weather and the rugged landscape produces sturdy plants that struggle feebly in Winnipeg. Beause- jour, Lac du Bonnet, Pinawa boast grand gardens in a stunning setting. The entire town of Pinawa is a park, set like a jewel on the banks of the lake- like Winnipeg River, deep in the boreal forest. Watch carefully as you drive in or near the Whiteshell and you might see a field of white lupine. You will certainly see the wild deer that inhabit the town. Then, down in a corner of the prov-
ince is the southeast angle, where boreal forest, aspen parkland, prairie lakes and wetlands meet
in a tangle
of water, trees and wild flowers such as crocus, lady's slippers, wild colum- bine and blue flag. You can drive back to the city through Steinbach, a model of perfect homes and gardens behind flower-bedecked streets. Drink all this in. If you live a hundred
years, you will never uncover all the wonderful sight and secrets of Mani- toba, our own garden province. x
localgardener.net
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