You Grow Girl™

Newfoundland is the island portion of Canada's easternmost province - Newfoundland and Labrador. The province's beautiful landscapes, vast expanses of untouched wilderness and mild summer temperatures make it a remarkable venue for all manner of outdoor activities. During a recent visit, I decided to look into the logistics of gardening in Newfoundland's coast-hugging capital city, St. John's.

After more than twenty years each of fighting the high winds and rocky soil that characterize most of the island, Judith McIntyre and Pat Rivers can tell you a thing or two about what it takes to make things grow here. Although they both live in the urban setting of St. John's, they have not escaped the challenges faced by gardeners across the island.

Asked to describe some of the differences between gardening in her native Northern Ireland and gardening in Newfoundland, Pat laughs. "Well, there's no soil here, that's for sure!" Newfoundland's nickname, "the Rock," is only too appropriate. Judith, also from Britain, adds that "the growing season is a lot shorter, and the climate is more... challenging." Pat agrees - "Very challenging!"

In particular, both identify the wind as a major obstacle to planting in Newfoundland. Both live within a kilometre of the sea, meaning high winds that blow in off the Atlantic Ocean and an abundance of fog. Judith describes the not uncommon loss of a tree to high winds: "A tree blew down in the middle of the garden several years ago. A very high wind storm in October which caught the leaves and blew it down. Roots and all, up it came!"

The women agree that Newfoundland winters can be risky for their gardens. The season can last anywhere from three to six months, and while snow tends to be scarce until mid-January, temperatures remain cool until late April or May. The last frost date for this year was listed as June 2nd. This unpredictability makes it difficult to know how to prepare plants, and spells bad news for perennials. "We often get quite cold weather without any snow cover, with a lot of freezing and thawing throughout the winter," explains Pat.

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