Gardening was considered women's work. Women dug, fertilized,
planted, weeded, watered young plants (carrying water from creek or
well), harvested, dried herbs, preserved seeds and
stored/pickled/cooked vegetables. If they grew flax or hemp, they
also made oil and clothes from them.
Women usually worked barefoot in the garden, wearing a dress with
long sleeves. They had no insect repellent, so interpreters don't
wear any either. They didn't have pesticides or herbicides, so
interpreters do what the original gardeners did: hoe weeds and put
ashes around the base of cabbages to discourage insects. Deer were
and continue to be a menace to the gardens, so gardeners put soap
shavings around the perimeter of the garden (lye-soap originally,
yellow Sunlight bar now).
"The garden was survival, not psychotherapy as it is today," Petriv
says. "You put your life into the soil." Vegetables dominated the
gardens, providing food for family and animals, but some gardeners
also found room for brightly coloured flowers: a little beauty for
the soul.
Before taking on the role of a gardener, some interpreters need to
learn how to garden. Everyone takes a two-week course in the history
of the Ukraine and central Alberta; they also learn the
practicalities of gardening, lighting a fire and using an outdoor pich oven. "Sometimes, the first week, they don't know a weed from a
carrot seed," Grandt says, and Petriv adds that last year someone
planted the garlic upside down!
While some interpreters are fluent in Ukrainian, others know only
"kitchen Ukrainian." A linguist teaches those with little or no
Ukrainian how to speak English with a Ukrainian accent. They do it
so well, Grandt says, that you think it's their native accent...
until you try to hold a conversation in Ukrainian. "We have some
incredibly talented staff who work very hard and really know their
stuff," he says with pride. "They really make the experience for the
visitor."
Heritage Community Foundation Presents
![Flowers](javascript:DynaPop('California Poppies','images/scanned/ah_5_det.jpg', 'California poppies (known as "sleepers" because thier petals close in evening) in one of Axenia Gekul\'s gardens. Rhubarb(in background) grew in abundabnce and was often shared with neighbours.',16,16))
