L-R: Joan Wilson (with Mon Ami) and Paula Maier examining flowers near East End, Saskatchewan
Photo by Rob Wilson
She’s Fallen in Love With Saskatchewan Nature’s Prairie
Anna Leighton
Joan Wilson’s interest in wild flowers goes back a long way. It began in her mother’s flower garden at the family farm near Madison, SK (a used-to-be town between Eston and Eatonia). Her mother, an avid gardener, very knowledgeable about wild flowers, restored calm and tranquility to her children after sibling disputes by taking them to the garden and teaching them about plants. Joan, who admits to having spent a lot of time in the garden, learned the names of many plants and still remembers the Smooth Blue Beardtongue that grew there.
In the early 1970's, she and her husband, Rob, lived and taught in Val Marie, then moved to Bjorkdale before settling in Saltcoats, where they have been for about 3 decades. Moving to Saltcoats brought Joan into contact with Jim and Shirley Jowsey, whose broad knowledge and wonderful book (Wildflowers Across the Prairies with Fenton Vance and others) advanced her interest and gave her a life time goal of seeing, first hand, all the flowers in the book.
Few people have had the opportunity to come to know both the far west and the far east of southern SK as Joan has (the more common trajectories being north to south, and rural to urban). Her life-long interest and experience across the province have given her a broad perspective on southern SK wild flowers and a deep commitment to the preservation of native habitats. In her presentation, she will share some plants of recent interest, including local, native milkweeds and their Monarch visitors.
