A History of Canadian Gardening/Gardens of Vancouver
Canadian Gardening
Carol Martin
A History of Canadian Gardening. McArthur $29.95
Collin Varner and Christine Allen
Gardens of Vancouver. Raincoast Books $36.95
This richly illustrated book describes four centuries of Canadian gardening beginning with the agricultural achievements of the Iroquois and the Hurons long before the Europeans arrived. The second chapter is dedicated to the early explorers and their interest in the flora and fauna of the newly discovered land, their collections and descriptions of plants and the trading of plants and seeds between the continents during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. When the first French settlers came to the East Coast, their main concern was the supply of food. Thus a history of Canadian gardening differs greatly from the history of European gardening of the same period.
Early gardening in Canada was mainly limited to vegetable gardens and orchards (“Gardening for the sake of beauty was a luxury [the early settlers] could not afford”). Nevertheless, even in these vegetable gardens, an urge for “symmetry and luxurious layout” was clearly noticeable. New challenges in gardening confronted the American Loyalists moving to the west of the country and the Hudson’s Bay Company trying to grow vegetables in the North. It is the second and third generations of newcomers who-after the pioneer work of the first settlers-were able to care for the garden for beauty’s sake. The creation of the first nurseries, the publication of the first seed catalogues and gardeners’ handbooks, and the invention of the lawn mower are symptomatic of a new concept of gardening. The horticultural changes of the nineteenth century caused a transformation of the Canadian landscape. Emerging with the rise of big cities and the social reforms accompanying them, the new horticultural spirit led to the City Beautiful Movement. The belief in the restorative powers of nature moved gardening into a new moral light. Public Gardens were established in the big cities and became a part of urban planning. Further, gardening was introduced in the school curriculum through the so-called Macdonald Movement, and railway stations became targets of a newly awakened interest in gardening and in beautifying an otherwise dull environment. This widespread interest in gardening is mirrored in a number of publications and the rise of garden clubs and horticultural societies which facilitated the exchange of seeds and plants among friends and hobby gardeners. In the Canadian context, as the author points out, gardening can never be isolated from farming. The foundation of the Central Experimental Farm (1886) and the development of an experimental farm system was a milestone not only in Canadian farming but in horticulture as well.
The often inhospitable climate of the Canadian regions requires thorough research for new species. While the experimental farms go back to the nineteenth century, most of the Botanical Gardens were established throughout the twentieth century. The book introduces some of the most famous Botanical Gardens with their special areas of concentration “often based on the climate and geography of their location.” The development of “new seeds for a new land” became the main goal of twentieth century horticulture. In the late 1960s and the 1970s the back-to-the-land movement with its nostalgic search for a simpler life made home gardening once again extremely popular. A new attitude towards nature and environment also sharpened the eye for Canadian heritage. Native seeds were rediscovered and propagated in the Heritage seed Program. Wild flower gardens and road beautifying programs mirror the recent interest in the protection of the environment. “Gardens, Gardens, Everywhere”, the final chapter, sketches new tendencies in gardening.
Despite the fact that Martin seeks to write a history of Canadian gardening, some references to international tendencies might have been useful. A number of the phenomena described are not typically or exclusively Canadian, but part of more general movements: The City Beautiful Movement, for example, should be considered within the context of the social reforms of Ruskin and, in particular, William Morris which resulted in building the first Garden Cities in England. This is not so much a question of direct influence but of comparable social conditions entailing similar reactions. The back- to-the-land movement of the 1960s and 70s is related to the foundation of the “Green” parties in Europe and originates from the same political and social situation. Moreover, road beautifying programs and wild flower gardens are just as popular in Europe as they are in Canada and derive from the same newly awakened concern for the environment.
However, this undoubtedly is a valuable book for all garden lovers interested in cultural history. The author has an admirable way of putting the right pictures and the right quotations in the right place. Carol Martin’s A History of Canadian Gardening is not merely a history of Canadian gardening, it is more: it is a cultural history of Canadian gardens, full of information and beautifully illustrated.
“Since a garden is always a work in progress, a volatile thing” it is the authors’ aim “to record a few of the best [gardens] at a moment when Vancouver is in the midst of a gardening renaissance.” An introductory survey of the history of gardening on the West Coast by Christine Alien is followed by the presentation of 26 outstanding private gardens of Vancouver, classified according to the different types of influences (English Influence, Cottage Style, Courtyard Gardens, Grand Estates, Tropical Visions, Oriental Influences, Plant Collections, North American Influence). A quotation summarizing the owner’s concept serves as an epigraph for each section. The beautifully designed and coloured garden plans provide an insight into the individual garden while the wonderful photos by John Dowell capture the highlights in greater detail.
This book conveys the intimate atmosphere of private gardens which one would otherwise not have the opportunity to share. The text, which combines poetic description and botanical information, is a real treasure for every garden lover. This is a most delightful book to browse through and a mine of inspiration.
Copyright University of British Columbia Summer 2003