Researching Historic Gardens and Landscapes

Historic Gardens and Landscapes Links

How did past generations garden? How did they view their landscapes? Detailed information on what still exists or what no longer remains is required to write the story of a site. Hopefully, the links provided here will help researchers do this.

The Burdens of the Early 20th Century Canadian Gardener

March 25, 2021

The early twentieth-century Canadian garden was not created solely for aesthetic reasons. A reforming zeal, evident throughout society in the actions of prohibitionists, suffragettes, evangelists and others, provided the impetus for our first great movement to improve our surroundings, that is, to garden, Yet, Canadians in the early 1900s were not allowed to just putter … More The Burdens of the Early 20th Century Canadian Gardener

Grandma Gowan’s poetry in Canadian Horticulturist

February 2, 2021

The Victorians were known for their love of sentimental floral poetry. This was certainly reflected in Canada’s major horticultural journal of the day – the Canadian Horticulturist. Not an issue went by in the late 1800s that did not have a poem in it, often written by a noted Canadian horticulturist. But the poet featured most … More Grandma Gowan’s poetry in Canadian Horticulturist

The Russian Influence in Canada: Jaroslav Niemetz

January 23, 2021

In the late 1870s interest in North American horticultural circles had quickened over the suitability of Russian, especially Siberia and Northern Asian, notably Manchurian, plant material our colder regions. One source of Russian information appeared in a series of letters (“Letters from Russia”) written to the Canadian Horticulturist in 1897. Translated from the French, the letters contained … More The Russian Influence in Canada: Jaroslav Niemetz

Colclough walled garden in Tintern Abbey, Wexford, Ireland, was built in the early 19th century by the Colclough family.