RUSSELL, Man. – When Frank Skinner arrived in western Manitoba to homestead a century ago, his plan was to make a living by raising cattle.
His land was on the edge of the open prairie, but was backdropped by the forested lands of Manitoba’s parkland region.
The Scottish immigrant often saddled a horse and rode the pastures checking his cattle.
During those outings, his eyes were drawn to the trees and shrubs that he found on the local landscape.
He carried a spade with him and often put it to good use when he spied a plant that intrigued him.
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On many occasions he returned to his farmyard toting samples of native trees and shrubs.
And so it was that Skinner embarked on a pastime that became a passion.
He eventually cut back the size of his cattle herd and devoted his life to collecting and propagating flowers, trees and shrubs.
“His real passion was in growing plants and trees for his garden,” recalls Hugh Skinner, one of Frank’s sons. “That hobby sort of overtook everything else.”
Frank established a commercial nursery in 1925, which was an attempt to diversify at a time of poor cattle prices.
Over time he sold most of his land to support his love of horticulture and the quest to bring new plant varieties to the Prairies.
His devotion to that quest seemed to know no bounds.
During the Second World War, he parted with a solid gold medal awarded to him for his outstanding contribution to horticulture in order to help support a correspondent in Russia who was sending him new plant material.
Skinner’s devotion to horticulture lasted a lifetime. Now deceased, he is still recognized as the father of Great Plains horticulture.
He received many awards for his horticultural endeavors, but is known for his contribution to the transformation of the prairie.
During his lifetime, he developed 156 prairie-hardy plants and trees. He also introduced hundreds of other varieties, many of them gathered through a network of friends and acquaintances around the globe.
“This tree here is a Manchurian pear that my father brought back from the Arnold Arboretum (at Harvard University) in 1918,” said Hugh, leading a tour through the nursery and arboretum that his father founded.
The Manchurian was the first pear tree successfully introduced into Western Canada.
Tree species on site
Other exotic tree species line the trails of the arboretum, among them Siberian larch, Swiss stone pine, Mongolian linden, and a Finnish spruce.
Hugh now oversees the nursery and arboretum, preserving his father’s legacy. He also is preserving memories that run back to his childhood.
He remembers as a child getting paid 10 cents for each row of plants that he weeded at the nursery. He also remembers how he and his oldest brother used to chauffeur their father around when his eyesight began to fail. Hugh was 12 when he learned to drive.
Five people worked at the nursery year round when Hugh was a kid. Several more were hired during the nursery’s shipping season.
“There was quite a crew that worked here to keep things going.”
And the guests were many, among them people wanting only to enjoy the peaceful beauty of the nursery and arboretum.
Others shared Frank’s passion for horticulture and his desire to test new plant varieties.
It wasn’t until Hugh, 49, graduated from university that he learned to appreciate what his father had developed. Then he began to understand his father’s pioneering spirit and his deep-rooted love of horticulture.
“I guess it’s a curiosity,” said Hugh.
“I enjoy growing plants but I also very much enjoy showing them to other people.”
The nursery continues to operate as a commercial enterprise. The arboretum, which is open to the public from spring through fall, is managed by a non-profit corporation.
