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.

Beginnings of Plant Registration in Canada

October 30, 2022

By the 20s the proliferation of hybridists and the resulting multiplication of new varieties of shrubs, plants, and trees caused some concern in the industry. Not only did chaos reign in maintaining names and products, but the lack of protection of hybridists’ labour was also appalling. Plant breeding was an expensive, time-consuming venture, a business … More Beginnings of Plant Registration in Canada

Henry Harris Groff, 1852-1933, hybridist

January 14, 2022

One of Canada’s early hybridists who concentrated solely on flowering plants was Henry H. Groff of Simcoe, Ontario. At various times in his career he was called “‘a wizard of horticulture,” “the banker-florist,” and “the Luther Burbank of Ontario.” His horticultural fame stemmed from the improvement and hybridizing of one plant – the gladiolus.” Basically he … More Henry Harris Groff, 1852-1933, hybridist

Street Tree Planting in Canada, pre-1930

September 13, 2021

One of the earliest civic beautification projects in Canada was street tree planting, which was also allied with the City Beautiful movement and with the growing popularity of boulevarding – creating strips of lawn and trees and sometimes flower beds alongside or down the centre of city streets. Winnipeg, Canada, led the way. It began … More Street Tree Planting in Canada, pre-1930

Cultural landscapes from a European point of view