My Boss and My Blog -1860’s Garden in Toronto

My boss Paul is constantly asking me about the blog.  In this busy time of year it is hard to find a quiet time to write.  I said I needed to write another – so he opens the newspaper and rips out an article “write about this” – he says (he is bit of a history buff).  The article is by Catherine Porter in the Toronto Star (June 27).  Although the article is not about trees (which is what we are known for) it is about horticulture and that is our industry.  The article is about an 1860’s-era garden at Lambton Mills – near where Dundas Street crosses the Humber River and Agnes Fitzgibbon.  The article describes how tough it was back in the day and what you had to do to survive – especially for women.  Agnes would take her 6 children to Lambton Mills for picnics.  Her first child was christened and came down with a fever in two days and died.  Two of the youngest died.  So she came to this place to find solace amongst the wildflowers and nature.  When her husband died, he left her very little money.  So, she asked her aunt, who was Catharine Parr Traill, a famous writer who wrote “The Backwoods of Canada” to help her write a book about wildflowers.

This is the part I found interesting.  Triall would write the text and FtizGibbon would do the pictures – they both would make money.  There were no Canadian publishers at the time and the two had pre-sold 500 copies.  So in order to make the pictures Fitzgibbon had to learn how to make lithograph tablets.  This entailed drawing with wax on limestone plates.  When the pages were printed Fitzgibbon and her eldest daughter coloured in the 10 pictures in each book – remember 500 copies!  By candlelight!  The book “Canadian Wild Flowers” was published in 1868.

Well now there is a heritage garden featuring those flowers at Lambton Mills. The Toronto Field Naturalists gave a grant to build the garden.  Volunteers built the garden and when it is finished they will start doing tours there.  I think I just might go for a tour.

Cover of The Book

Cover Page

Some of the illustrations

Another illustration

Another example