Pearl Lorentzen

Lakeside Leader

There may be only so many plants which will grow in the 3a hardiness zone, which includes Slave Lake and Marten Beach. However, that doesn’t result in cookie-cutter gardens.

The second annual Garden Tour had 12 gardens, each with an interesting twist on what you can grow in the boreal forest.

Georgie Gauthier was one of the organizers of the event.

She says, “Whether the garden was big or small, manicured or a bit wild they all had something to teach us. From veggies to cacti and spectacular trees to tiny annuals, the engaged group was treated to many wonderful sights.”

For example, Kimberley Fielding, in Marten Beach, grows vegetables year-round with three aquaponic (cultivating plants in water) and grow light towers. She keeps the light on 14 hours a day year round. The water and nutrients in the base of the stand are pumped up to the plants. She grows everything but root vegetables, including rutabaga, lettuce, and herbs.

Ronda Groom and Bob Deacon, in Marten Beach, are right next to the Marten River. Their main focus is having a bird-friendly garden. This includes lots of flowering plants, trees and berry bushes, and leaving dead branches and leaves on the ground.

Over lunch at the Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation, the participants listened to a brief talk on attracting birds to your yard. The almost 30 participants went to gardens in Marten Beach, just north of Slave Lake, and in Slave Lake. The tour was organized by the Lesser Slave Lake Regional Arts Council. The council plans to organize one next year.

A ligularia (leopard plant) not blooming yet. It was one of the plants in a few of the gardens.
A butterfly on clover.
Kelly Adelman tells the garden tour about the greenhouse her husband, Terry, made from old power poles which he cut into boards with his sawmill.
A ligularia (leopard plant) in bloom.
Ronda Groom and most of the garden tour participants in Ronda and Bob Deacon’s garden in Marten Beach. The green container in the foreground is a composter, which gets rolled around to mix the compost. Their garden is focused on attracting birds.
One of the flowerbeds in Jude Martin and Mario Munoz’s back yard in Marten Beach.
A cedar waxwing eats a saskatoon in Ronda Groom and Bob Deacon’s garden. They leave the berries for the birds.