A Portage la Prairie couple has received the Burgess Shield Award from the Manitoba Good Roads Association, a provincial honour recognizing excellence in community beautification among towns with populations over 7,500.
Rose and Keith Park were presented the award at the association’s annual banquet this past Monday. Their home, tucked in the south-central side of the city, caught the attention of local officials thanks to its carefully maintained gardens and unique outdoor spaces.
Park says she was first approached about entering their property into the competition last year.
“There were, I think, four other properties in town that they were looking at, and they picked us,” Park explains. “We've got a small yard, but it's quite nicely done, at least the way I like it. It was a lot of work keeping the yard nice, but it turned out very good.”
A labour of love
The beautiful yard didn’t take shape overnight. The couple moved into the home nearly 27 years ago, and Park says the space has been evolving ever since.
“When I first moved in, it was very overgrown. As we updated the yard, we built a new garage and added on to the back of the house, so it's been a work in progress. A few years ago, an ice storm broke our existing gazebo, so we bought a new one. It was just your plain, ordinary gazebo, not what I wanted. So, we made a wall out of antique doors, and we have some antique furniture in there that we use all summer long.”
In addition to decorative touches, the couple has built raised vegetable beds, a back deck, and an above-ground pond made from a cattle trough. Shade structures and arbors also help protect more delicate plants from the sun.
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Roots run deep
Park traces her love of gardening back to childhood and credits her mother for passing on the passion and the skill.
“I learned a lot from my mom's gardening. She loved gardening, flowers, and vegetable gardening. She always had a beautiful vegetable garden and a beautiful yard. Her yard was just Immaculate.”
Park continues to expand her gardening efforts with homegrown plants, even overwintering geranium slips and growing marigolds from seed.
“I try to grow my plants and flowers. I can’t grow them all, but whatever I can supply myself, I try to.”
A backyard sanctuary
Their garden provides a peaceful space for themselves and butterflies as well. The couple began planting milkweed four years ago to support the declining monarch population.
“Only about 10% of the monarchs make it from caterpillar to butterfly because they’re quite susceptible to being eaten by different bugs and birds. Wasps especially go after them,” Park explains. “The first year, we started with a mesh hamper to harvest some of the caterpillars. Later, we put milkweed in jars with water to help keep them growing.”
Park says they released around 27 monarchs the first year and around 19 this past summer.
A shared project
While Rose is the primary gardener, she shares the credit with her husband, Keith.
“I make it sound like it's all me, but it's not! My husband doesn't do as much with the plants, but if I get an idea, he sure helps me bring it to life. It's a real team effort.”
Recognition well earned
Park says their recent award was special to receive after years of hard work. Their garden was also featured on last year’s Holiday Avenue Project’s Garden Tour.
“Everybody loved the yard, I had so many compliments from the people touring through. They loved what we had done with it, and I had a couple of ladies sitting in the gazebo saying, ‘I don't know if I want to go anywhere else.' It's nice to know they got the same feel I wanted for the yard. I wanted it to be peaceful and serene – a place that you want to come home to.”
Park says their outdoor space is complete and they don't plan to make any major changes, however, the couple will continue with seasonal maintenance and plant care, a hobby they both enjoy.
“There will always be small updates; weeding and grass cutting, but now we plan to enjoy what we've created. It's quite a nice little oasis.”
