Retrospect

One is surely close to the sere and yellow leaf when the Editor suggests that I record some reminiscences of the years during which I have been associated with the Ottawa Horticultural Society. While we, in this society of amateur gardeners, are more concerned with present and future activities perhaps we should remember that the Society has been involved in the question for a better environment long before the present whoop-de-do. For many years officers and members have been engaged in the battle against the encroachment and proliferation of asphalt and concrete which seems to be so easily encouraged in the living areas of our towns and cities. The beginnings of gardening in the Ottawa-Hull area were established when the first settlers arrived from New England and from Overseas, bringing with them their favorite seeds, cuttings and plants. The first illustrious gardener in this area was probably Mrs. John By, whose garden was much admired by visitors in the pioneer days of the early 1830's. In the early 1860's there is a record of a branch in Ottawa of the Royal Horticultural Society. It was in 1892 that a group of high-ranking civil servants, together with local greenhousemen and professional gardeners, organized the Ottawa Horticultural Society. It is of historic interest that the first President was. Col. William Whyte, Deputy Postmaster-General, whose home and garden were located on Wurtemberg Street, near Rideau. This site was later the home of Sir Robert Borden, then became the Embassy of China, still later of Taiwan and has now been replaced by a high-rise apartment. The first Secretary was Mr. G. P. Keyes, who was the Secretary of the then Department of the Interior and whose garden was .located on Rideau Street. Since that time there have been 36 Presidents, most of whom served for a two-year term. In that time there have been only six Secretaries and I can only presume that Secretaries lasted longer because there was an Honorarium attached to the job! Mr. Harry Cooper was an officer of the Society for over 30 years and was Secretary­Treasurer for 21 years of that time. I also have been associated with the Society for 32 years and with 27 years of service as Secretary-Treasurer have assisted 14 Presidents, all of whom became personal friends.

Over the years, the. Society has performed innumerable community services in attempts to improve the gardening knowledge of residents in this area. Garden Education meetings have been held in Spring and Fall. In the last 30 years we have staged 200 flower shows, all of which were open to the public, free of charge. Officers and members have made plantings for those who could not garden for themselves. The Society has distributed many new plants, trees and shrubs; they have promoted garden competitions; provided junior classes in the flower shows and garden photography competitions. Officers of the Society presented the first official Street Tree policy to City Hall and did much to promote the adoption of the Trillium as the Flower Emblem of Ontario. The Centennial Garden at City Hall was promoted by society officers and many plants of Canadian origin have been presented for planting in this area.

In the 1940's board meetings were held in the Ontario Department of Agriculture office on the corner of Albert and Kent streets. Meetings lasted longer in those days and discussions of show classes, rule changes and finances often lasted till midnight. After locking up the office it was sometimes too late to catch a street-car home and I found it a long walk to the east side of the Rideau River, especially if the weather was cold and stormy. Two of the most verbose members of the board during my early association with the society were S. Alfred Carriere and John J. Carr, who both contributed outstanding service to the Society. Jack Carr used to give Radio talks at noon hour from Dr. Geldart's old station on Somerset Street. Fred Carrier was a great Paeony show exhibitor and I have often told the story of his winning a coveted trophy by cooking some of his prize blooms open in his home basement by turning off the upstairs vents and stoking up the furnace on a hot night in June; how he survived is another story.

Before World War II society equipment was stored at the Central Canada Exhibition grounds but, when the army took over Lansdowne Park, we had to find another storage area-a difficult task at that time. Ray Tubman of the Capitol Theatre finally allowed us to park all our tables, trestles etc. on the stage of the Capitol Theatre and we had most of our flower shows in the rotunda of the theatre. The problem was that when there was a stage show, all the equipment had to go temporarily out in the back alley and I was always worried that it might disappear. The Murphy-Gamble store on Sparks Street was also the scene of some outstanding flower shows, especially the early Spring Show which also featured an outstanding display of spring flowers from Government House, and the June Rose Show which coincided with new summer fashions. One of our successful ventures was the Public School Garden Competition which received great support from many of the teachers in Ottawa Public Schools. Training in gardening was provided by two very dedicated school teacher instructors, the Misses Alida J. Lapp and Bessie Piggott. Many graduates from this group went on to become good gardeners.

The Society received great support in its early years from the first Dominion Horticulturalist, Dr. W. T. Macoun, who was a pillar of the society then. His successor, Mr. M. B. Davis, carried on in this tradition and Senior Horticulturalists R. Warren Oliver and Arthur R. Buckley often acted as mentors to society members and staged displays of new ornamental plant varieties at shows and garden meetings. Local seed firms and nurseries have been patrons of the Society. The firm of Kenneth MacDonald & Sons provided more than one director. Superintendent of MacDonald's Maplewood Nursery on the Montreal Road, John J. Frith, was a Society officer in the 1940's and is still giving devoted service to the society programmes. John loved all plants but was especially keen about Iris and I remember that in support of the Iris Show, being staged then in the Capitol Theatre, he set off from Maplewood Nursery with containers of Bearded Iris in the back of an open truck, for display on the marble stairway at the theatre. Fate, in the form of a violent thunderstorm, caught up with Jack and when he arrived at the theatre there was little left of the Iris but the bare stalks.

The Society owes much to the dedicated citizens who accepted office and served so well over the years, and none more so than those who accepted the Presidency. The retiring President when I attended my first meeting was Charles Good, whose rose garden was as well organized as everything else about him. Courteous Thomas Monette was President in 1942-43; he and his Vice-President Albert E. Challis were responsible for my introduction as Society Secretary in 1942. Bert Challis was my mentor in gardening and the best all-round horticulturist I knew. Barney Sierolawski was President from 1944-46; he was an artist with the brush as well as on the Flower Show table. John Carr, who was as "Irish as Paddy's pig" was concerned with every phase of society activity and 1947-48 was his second two-year term of office; he introduced many new varieties of Bearded Iris and tulips to Ottawa flower shows. Two other wonderful personalities I had the good fortune to serve with were Frederick Pain and George Rosser. Fred produced our Year Book for many years, presented a new idea to Board Meetings at every opportunity and compiled a History of the Society which is now in the Archives. George Rosser encouraged interest in planting at Veterans' Homes and at the C.N.I.B. Home for the Blind. Those who followed and provided inspiration to the members included R. J. "Dick" Paynter; A. D. Alex Maginness; John H. Cowan; Herb. W. Cole; John M. Robinson; H. A. "Bert" Coulman; Ralph H. Briggs; Clarence M. Brown and Maurice Marshall, all of whom still take part in Society activities and contribute greatly to its welfare. I salute all of them for their dedication to the Society's ideals and express my gratitude for the opportunity of being associated with these outstanding community citizens.

Please contact the OHS or the author if you wish to republish these articles. © Ottawa Horticultural Society

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