The greening of Manitoba 1870 - 1930
By Lyle Dick T
he year 1870, pivotal in so many aspects of Manitoba’s history, was decisive to the future development of horticulture in the West. With
the creation of the first of the prairie prov- inces, early traditions of small-scale garden- ing for subsistence were quickly dwarfed by the expansion of horticultural practice into numerous spheres of life. No longer solely an agricultural pursuit, horticulture became imbued with a wide range of social, educa- tional and recreational objectives. It became a vehicle for the extension of science into everyday life, for the beautification of urban and rural landscapes, even for the inculcation of moral and political values.
The first crop for First Nations Previously, various forms of horticulture had been practised by the prairies’ pre- Confederation populations. As early as 500 years before pre-contact First Nations peoples cultivated corn at Lockport and other sites in southern Manitoba. Plains Native cultures also developed a wide-ranging knowledge of the properties of numerous plants, from which they manufactured medicines and ma- terial goods. In the 18th and 19th centuries, European fur traders planted gardens at posts
across the prairies, while Métis residents and the Selkirk colonists tended both gardens and field crops at Red River. With the excep- tion of produce at some of the post gardens, these early horticultural and farming activities were oriented to local food production and self-sufficiency.
Horticulture gains importance Between 1870 and 1930 the rapid develop- ment of horticulture supported the establish- ment of a new middle-class society in western Canada. Governments, agricultural colleges, horticultural societies and community farm organizations promoted vegetable, flower and tree culture as important adjuncts to the dominant cereal grain economy established in this period. What was noteworthy about the post-1870 period was the immense scale of horticultural activity and its systematic promotion in support of sustained settlement by Euro-North Americans and Europeans.
The importance of trees
Crops such as corn were being grown here by First Nations long before the settlers arrived.
Early horticultural efforts after Confedera- tion often focused on tree culture in both Manitoba and the North-West Territories (after 1905, Saskatchewan and Alberta). In this vast, often sparsely treed region, settlers planted trees for a variety of reasons, includ-
8 • Fall 2016
localgardener.net
Image Courtesy of University of Manitoba Archives && Special Collections.
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