December Lecture 2001

“Garden Legacies” was the title of Lynne Milnes’s talk, which featured fine photographs of some of Victoria’s better known gardens, past and present. She spoke of the inevitability of change, as gardens develop over time to a recognized eminence, and then as their creators grow older, are often lost to posterity. In these examples, her illustrations were in the nature of memorials. But not all such gardens are doomed to this end, and her commentary spoke of both outcomes:

“As the year is coming to a close it seems appropriate to think back on some gardens which are legacies in our community. But gardeners are a fickle lot. They collect special plants and create gardens only to lose interest or decide another space looks better. Ted O'Donnell sold his watering can collection once it was photographed. Wendie McHenry sold her garden after planning its creation for 5 years.

Some plant collections move with the owners such as Bryce Fradley's beautiful perennial combinations but other gardens are lost when the owners move or pass over such as Pierre Archambault and Brent Webber's masterpiece in Esquimalt and Gordon Fisher's gem of a garden on rented property on Terrace Avenue. Some gardens become overgrown in time such as Albert de Mezey's forest of rhododendrons on Foul Bay Road while other gardeners prefer to move on when the garden becomes too much, such as Marylee and Peter Platt, who gave up their Oak Bay property but still garden outside their ground floor condominium.

The legacy of expert rhododendron propagator Stuart Holland lives on with the hybrid ‘Transit Gold’ as well as his plantings in Playfair Park and the University of Victoria. Doris Page's garden might have changed since her death but her legacy lives on in the Doris Page winter garden at the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific under the expert guidance of master gardener Valerie Murray.”

Lynne concluded her presentation with selections from this coming year’s calendar, “In a Victoria Garden”. Members were pleased to be able to procure the latest version in this popular series.