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“Prairie Shore Botanicals is located near Gardenton, Manitoba, on the northern edge of what was once a vast sea of tall grass prairie. Here, the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve contains sizeable prairie remnants where one can still experience the mesmerizing wave-like motion of grasses and sedges as they sway rhythmically in the wind.
Prairie Shore Botanicals is dedicated to increasing public knowledge of, and respect for, the beauty, diversity and usefulness of wild plants through specialized skills classes, presentations, consulting services, and sustainably harvested products. Prairie Shore Botanicals believes in high quality products and services that don’t contain “fluff”. This is reflected in the intensive style of teaching, practical product packaging, and straight-forward sharing of information. Maximum hands-on learning is incorporated into every presentation, workshop and course.
Laura Reeves, founder of Prairie Shore Botanicals, is a botanist with over 20 years experience. She received her BSc. (Botany) from the University of Manitoba in 1997. Since 1994, she has attended 8 courses at Tom Brown’s Tracking, Nature and Wilderness Survival School in New Jersey, including the Standard, Advanced Standard, Advanced Tracking and Awareness, Caretaker and Philosophies 1-4 . She has also taken the home- based Kamana Naturalist Training Program through Wilderness Awareness School (Washington).” from http://www.psbotanicals.com
Maple sap collection, the easy way.
Manitoba Maple
Manitoba Native Plants: Motherwort
Manitoba Native Plants: Ostrich Fern
Manitoba Native Plants: A big Burr from a Burdock
Manitoba Native Plants: Sweet Cicely
The ferns can start early in Manitoba
Old Farm equipment from the early days of settlement in southern Manitoba
The Deer are everywhere around here.
A Manitoba Sedge
Manitoba Native Plants: Chickweed
Wild Manitoba Raspberry spikes
Manitoba Native Plants: Swamp Thistle
Thirteen Lined Ground Squirrel; making a nest
A wonderfully large wood pile.
A Miagrropen. Or spelled something like that. A Mennonite cast iron cauldron normally used to render fat, but Laura uses it to build down Maple sap.
Prairie grass burn
Clover
A nice Southern Manitoba Landscape in Spring
A wasp Gall from the previous season
McColl Frontenac Oil
Vintage Steel Farm Wheel
Start the sprouts indoors to protect them from the cold spring weather.
Laura explains how to make Acorn Flour
Laura Reeves
With over 285 colour photos and 30 recipes, Laura Reeves’ Guide to Useful Plants will bring you up to speed on identifying, sustainably harvesting and skillfully preparing some of the most intriguing wild plants and mushrooms of the northern prairie and boreal forest.
