{
  "id": 16292516,
  "title": "Garden grandees",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/24/garden-grandees",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-24T07:00:12.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Winnipeg Free Press",
    "slug": "winnipeg-free-press",
    "url": "https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/2026/10/24/garden-grandees"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "For the past few weeks, Robert and Susan Choquette have been very busy at their large rural home in Oakbank. They are getting their gardens ready for winter by digging and storing canna rhizomes, and bringing delicate plants indoors. This winter, the Choquettes have prepared an impressive array of canna lilies and castor bean plants for display. These plants can grow to heights of eight feet (2.4 meters), making them quite a sight. The couple has even given away at least ten dozen of the canna rhizomes to friends and neighbors. The Choquettes' garden is a favorite stop on this year's Gardens of Distinction tour by Nature Manitoba, which took place on July 4. One standout feature of the garden is a cornfield-like display of canna lilies and castor bean plants. These plants tower over Robert, their leaves stretching nearly two feet across. Robert and Susan are also in the process of transitioning one area of their garden to native plants, adding ornamental grasses and moving shrubs and perennials. Their 20-acre property is filled with mature trees and trails, and the house, garden beds, and one of their ponds are situated in an open, sunny area surrounded by woods. The pond has a waterfall and is surrounded by layers of structural perennials, ground covers, and large granite boulders. Robert built the pond by hand in 2003 and avoids using solar lights around the ponds, believing they could negatively affect firefly mating.",
  "summary": "The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity at Robert and Susan Choquette’s spacious rural property in Oakbank. They have been busy preparing multiple gardens for winter, digging […]",
  "key_points": [
    "Choquettes prepare gardens for winter, storing canna rhizomes and bringing plants indoors",
    "Garden features towering canna lilies and castor bean plants, 2 feet across",
    "Nature Manitoba's Gardens of Distinction tour highlights Choquette's garden on July 4"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Sharing surplus rhizomes with neighbors transforms a private horticultural passion into a community resource that spreads diverse plant varieties throughout the local gardening landscape.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}