About Us

Prairie Originals was started in 1990 in St. Andrews, just north of Winnipeg, by Shirley Froehlich. We did a lot of landscaping there with native plants, however we eventually ran out of space.

So in 2005 we moved to 27 Bunns Road, a 5-acre property on the east side of the river between Lockport and Selkirk, Manitoba. The new property was an old hayfield, so we have converted part of it to a retail and container growing area and to stock beds for collecting seed. We also have a shade house, where our woodland stock plants for shade reside. We have established several display gardens and demonstration prairies over the last few years. We continue to work on converting the hayfield to prairie so there will be areas in various states of establishment.

If you are not sure which plants grow well together, how many plants you need or which plants will suit your site we would be happy to help.

You are welcome to come and tour the stock beds, display gardens and demonstration prairies from May to September during regular business hours.

Our Plants

Prairie Originals grows about 125 species of native plants in our plant nursery. Our plants are almost all grown from seed with the vast majority of seed collected from our own stock beds. A few varieties are propagated by division. Our seed was originally collected from local areas around Manitoba. Shirley learned how to propagate native plants by reading and a lot of trial and error. She continues to work on some of the “difficult” varieties such as Baneberry, Bloodroot and Blue Cohosh.

We grow our plants using organic fertilizers. We occasionally have customers who wrinkle their noses upon arrival and wonder aloud “Is there something fishy here?” Well, yes there is. We use organic fertilizers such as Biofish and if you arrive during or just after watering a fishy aroma will greet you. The fishy fragrance disappears in less than an hour. We may not think much of the aroma but the plants love the nutrients in fish fertilizer. We also use other organic additives such as locally available Humic Acid, Kelp and Aerated Compost Tea called Eco-Tea. Eco-Tea is full of millions of beneficial microbes that help create a healthy soil food web in our containers that transfers to your garden upon planting. This results in excellent survival and growth when transplanting out plants. For more information on Eco-Tea see our May 2010 Newsletter and www.eco-tea.ca.

Our plants are generally available in two sizes: 5-packs of plugs and in 4½” pots. Vines are in 4½” pots and shrubs are in 4½” pots, 1 gallon pots and 2 gallon pots. Large orders of plants for landscaping companies are welcome.

We have native Manitoba Prairie plants suitable for all types of properties, whether small city gardens or larger rural properties. They are also excellent candidates for school grounds, cottages and commercial properties. We have species for dry, medium or wet sites and for sun or shade. Our top quality, nursery grown plants have excellent survival rates when transplanted at your site.

Other Sources of Plants

Selected varieties are also available in 4.5" deep pots at:

• The Rock - 1459 Corydon Ave.
• Sage Garden Herbs - 3410 St. Mary's Rd.
• Lacoste Garden Centre – 2787 St. Mary’s Rd.
• The Preferred Perch - 4-1604 St. Mary's Rd.
• Jardins St. Leon Gardens - 419 St. Mary's Rd.
• Green Spot – 1329 Rosser Ave. E., Brandon
• Sherwood Greenhouses – Hwy 1 East, Regina, SK

Our People

Kelly Leask –Manager

Kelly joined Prairie Originals in 2013 and quickly became a knowledgeable member of our staff. She discovered a passion for gardening with native plants and conserving the fascinating and delightful plants species that are endemic to the prairies, as well as the incredible array of fauna that they support. Kelly is a Master Composter. She enjoys gardening, bird- watching, photography, travel, handicrafts, soccer, cross-country skiing and curling. Her favourite plants are all Milkweeds, Blue Eyed Grass, Gaillardia, Giant Hyssop and Indian Grass.

Shirley Froehlich – Owner

Shirley started Prairie Originals in 1990 and spent 25 years propagating, growing and promoting native plants for use in landscaping. In 2015 Shirley stepped into the background to allow someone with fresh ideas to steer Prairie Originals into the future. Shirley will be exploring Manitoba for more native species to propagate and establishing more native plants on her property.