Some honourable mentions
So many people have contributed to the plant life of Manitoba and many of them were garden centres. Today, a fresh young group are taking over from the older generation, carrying on a tradition that we can only hope remains forever.
Carla Hyrcyna and Ken Land of St. Mary's Garden Centre.
St. Mary’s Garden Centre Today, Carla Hyrcyna is the face
and voice of St. Mary’s Nursery and Garden Centre, her bubbly personal- ity and warm manner winning over everyone who comes
through the
door. Providing the strong, quieter side of the equation is her partner, Ken Land, previously a representative for Green Cross and Greenleaf, where he sold fertilizer. They are a complemen- tary pair. St. Mary’s was actually founded in
1985 by Brian Duncan who was previ- ously one of the partners at Shelmer- dine. Carla started working for Brian back in 1994, for four hours a day. Since 2007 when Brian sold the busi- ness to her and Ken, she laughs, she works 24-hours a day. Starting as a labourer in the green-
house, Carla also did landscape plans, a talent she developed from a hobby into a major part of the business. She then worked as a grower, took over management of the greenhouse and finally began to develop the gift and Christmas shop side of the business. The final and natural step was owner- ship. Carla and Ken have grown the busi-
ness since taking it on. They have added substantially to the gift shop side of the business, adding gourmet foods and expanding the Christmas tree display. Three season ago, the introduced fashion. They continue to sell tropical plants in the winter. x
76 • Fall 2016
Ray and Jeanne DuBois, Ron Paul Garden Centre.
Ron Paul Greenhouse Always known for its friendly and
courteous service, Ron Paul garden centre started back in 1965. It was acquired by Ray Dubois in 2009, and since that time Ray has grown the business through hard work, honest prices and a continuation of the warm service the garden centre has always been known for. While Ron Paul offers a full green-
house service and a smaller gift and accessories shop, his main growth has been in the area of hard merchandise as Winnipeg’s largest seller of Bark- man products. He also does a good business in selling caliper trees and he delivers. He has sixteen trucks on the road to make sure that customers get timely service. In an era where many garden
centres are opting to leave grow- ing and concentrate on resale of plants grown elsewhere, Ron Paul still grows many flowers from seeds, offering choices
for those special
little annuals that are not available elsewhere. They do provide the usual potted baskets
and containers, as
well. His wife Jeanne works with him in the business, managing the plant side. On advantage of his store, says
Ray, is that his prices are consider- ably lower on most of his products, both herbaceous and garden accesso- ries, than elsewhere. x
Ernie Kackenhoff in one of his greenhouses. Kackenhoff Nurseries
Like many other garden centre
owners, Ernie Kackenhoff, born in a greenhouse in Holland, started his Canadian garden life at Shelmer- dine, where he spent one summer. He moved on to become a techni- cian at the University of Manitoba for a couple of years before marrying a Dauphin girl, Susan Mansfield, in 1958. The following year, they started a residential landscaping business out of their home. In 1963, they moved to their current location south of St. Norbert, a mile from the Red River, which supplied the water needed to grow their own stock. In 1965, they opened the retail
store and over the years, they added more land to their original five-acre lot which houses the retail operation. They have survived floods and battles with Red River gumbo, although they finally succumbed to the clay and purchased additional land at Tolstoi, where the lighter soil makes it easier to grow their specialty: trees and shrubs. Indeed,
their hydrangeas are argu-
ably the best in Winnipeg, thanks to Susan’s care. Their two children, Janice and
Barry, along with their partners are now actively involved in the business. In 2009, Ernie and Susan were
honoured with a life membership in the Manitoba Nursery and Landscape Association, which Ernie twice served as president. x
localgardener.net
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 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80