OHS Participation In The Community

The OHS commemorated a special landmark in 2003-the 110th anniversary of its very first meeting on January 17, 1893. We were very proud to have marked this milestone in such grand style - a special public lecture was held at the National Archives and Library of Canada on Friday, January 17th, 2003. The lecture was accompanied by a slideshow and OHS archival materials displayed in a showcase in the lobby of the theatre at the Library. The lecture was given by Edwinna von Baeyer, an Ottawa landscape historian who has written extensively on the history of gardening. Among her books are Garden Voices: Two Centuries of Canadian Garden Writing; Garden of Dreams: Kingsmere and Mackenzie King; and Rhetoric and Roses: A History of Canadian Gardening, 1900-1930. Historical slides, which illustrated the lecture wonderfully, were augmented by recent ones, taken by local photographer Mary Bramley whose work has appeared in several magazines and galleries across Canada. The photographs, taken from a range of public gardens, showcased the many beautiful areas of our city such as Rideau Hall, Beechwood Cemetery, Queen Elizabeth Drive, the Central Experimental Farm, Parliament Hill, and other more private gardens such as Maplelawn.

The talk began with a look at the "City Beautiful" movement in the late 19th century - a movement strongly supported by many North American Horticultural Societies - which beautified many of the public spaces of cities and towns, in an attempt to move away from the very urban landscapes that flourished during the Industrial Revolution. The Ottawa Horticultural Society was established in this era of blossoming gardening and landscape interest. Not only did the OHS encourage the growth of other horticultural societies in Eastern Ontario, it was one of the organizations that carried out the ideals of the City Beautiful movement by helping to transform the new capital from an isolated lumber village, to a more sophisticated city, graced with private gardens, public green spaces, parks and parkways.

The Ottawa Horticultural Society of the late 19th and early 20th centuries brimmed with a Whos Who of the City. The membership and executive at the time contained many prominent citizens, including W.T. Macoun, the Dominion Horticulturalist, various Governors-General and their spouses, and prominent representatives of Ottawas horticultural industry-seed companies and commercial greenhouses and nurseries.

Edwinna Von Baeyer explained how over time the garden styles changed, illustrating how the OHS role in civic beautification progressed from private to public and back to private gardens. Despite these swings in horticulture in the area, the legacy of the OHS continues. Our Society maintains a strong connection with its community, actively participates in the recent resurgence of horticultural interest (both private and public), and remains focused on horticultural education in the community.

The Mission of the OHS continues to state our objective of cultivating an interest in plants and gardening in order to create a beautiful community, and the Society has recently discussed ways in which this mission will be translated into action. In the next five to ten years, we want to expand our education program, establish outreach opportunities that protect and enhance the beauty of our community, and develop closer working relationship with like-minded organizations.

110 years on, the OHS continues to play an integral role in our communitys beautification and horticultural education.

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

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