Boughen Nurseries
Advice to gardeners since 1937
T
his year, 2016, Boughen Nurser- ies of Valley River, Manitoba, celebrates 104 years of continu-
ous family ownership and management, a laudable achievement in these times of buyouts and corporate mergers. The company was started by William
James Boughen back in 1912. Its opera- tions were carried on by William’s son, Russell McCowan Boughen who, along with this wife, Ada Cooke Boughen, are both still alive at 90, living in an apart- ment in Dauphin. The company is oper- ated today by their sons Ron and Chris. Boughen Nurseries can take a lot of
pride on its Manitoba introductions, particularly, their ‘Skybound’ Cedar and ‘Charisma’ lilac. They also introduced the ‘Silver Charm’ dogwood, the ‘Kirk’ apple and ‘Boughen’s Delight’ apple, all winners in the hardy category. Things have changed a lot over the
past century. “When I was a kid in the 50s,” said Ron Boughen, “we still sold cream, chickens, beef cows and barley. We also had over 200 honey bee hives.” Speaking of bees, Ron said that in the thirties, Boughen sold two-pound pack- ages of honey bees for $3.25 (including a queen) and shipped them in the mail to their customers. You could get a collection of six hardy
roses for only $3.25, “postpaid” in 1930. Boughen even sold Holstein calves for $40 a piece through the catalogue. It’s not clear how the calves were shipped. Back in the day, W.J. Boughen was
something of a Canadian leader in the horticultural field. He was appointed Horticultural Explorer for Canada and charged with travelling from Fort William, Ontario to Peace River, Alber- ta “looking for native plants that might be adapted to garden use.” He won many awards and prizes, especially for his hardy fruit. x
74 • Fall 2016 T
he Prairie Garden is a non- profit publication that is dedi- cated to the advancement of
horticulture in the prairie provinces. It
is western Canada’s only garden-
ing annual. Each year, a new digest- sized book is published highlighting a particular gardening theme. The Prairie Garden Committee
began in 1956 as a standing commit- tee of the Winnipeg Horticultural Society, which had published The Winnipeg Flower Garden and The Flower Garden, the precursor of The Prairie Garden, starting in 1937. The book began as the annual report of the Winnipeg Horticultural Society, and was free to members when they paid their annual membership fees. It was first called The Winnipeg Flower Garden and included not only the offi- cial annual report of the society, but also informational articles by promi- nent local horticulturists of the time. The name was changed to The Flower Garden in 1955 because of the book’s ever-increasing readership. However, it was only to be called The Flower Garden for two years before becom- ing The Prairie Garden in 1957, once again because of its ever-broadening popularity, now extending right across the Prairies and beyond and its applicability to gardening in this region in general, and not to Winni- peg in particular.
The Prairie Garden 2017 Herbs and Spices
It is an exciting time to be a prairie
gardener! A remarkable potpourri of herb and spice plants is available these days, and gardeners are breaking the bounds of our northern climate by growing amazing and diverse selec- tions. The 2017 Prairie Garden is dedicated to this goal: connecting gardeners with local information on how to successfully grow everything from culinary herb classics, right on through to exotic spices such as ginger, allspice, and even potted cinnamon trees. Local gardeners will love the prairie-centric voice of our contributing authors who understand that information about herbs is all too often covered in warmer climate
terms...and that is just frustrating! The plants highlighted in the 2017
Prairie Garden reflect a wide range of fragrance, flavours and uses, and our contributors offer an inspiring look at the many ways that herbs and spices weave into our lives. This year’s book also features a comprehensive herb and spice compendium with full colour pictures and prairie-specific growing details. x
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