Augmented Bibliography Of Canadian Garden and Landscape History Sources, up to 1950

By Edwinna von Baeyer

Research tool useful for studying a small backyard garden or a city’s park system or a large cultural landscape in Canada up to 1950. Sources include books, articles, and websites and focus on such major subjects as reference works, travel literature, ornamental gardening, exhibitions, floras, and prominent nursery men and women, botanists, landscape architects, general horticulture, nurseries, botanical gardens, parks, railway gardening, associations, and significant periodicals.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Edwinna von Baeyer
• Release date: Mar 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9780969210054

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Copyright

© Edwinna von Baeyer, Bibliography for Canadian Garden and Landscape History, up to 1950, Revised, 2018; Augmented Bibliography for Canadian Garden and Landscape History Sources, up to 1950, 2021.

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this publication’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edwinna von Baeyer, Augmented Bibliography for Canadian Garden and Landscape History Sources, up to 1950, Revised, and with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Dedication

To the memory of Susan Buggey (1941-2015), who first set my feet on the path of garden history

Introduction

How did past generations garden in Canada? The question is an increasingly important one in light of the shift in heritage conservation from a preoccupation with individual historic buildings to an expanded view of buildings in context -- as part of a streetscape, or a larger landscape such as a park. And recently the definition of landscapes and gardens has been enlarged even further to include any geographical area that has been modified or influenced by human activity. Thus, expansive areas such as native hunting grounds, industrial parks, urban subdivisions are being studied as cultural landscapes.

However, whether one is studying a small backyard garden of the l890s or a city's park system in the 1930s, the researcher realizes that all gardens and landscapes are dynamic, constantly evolving. The historic garden researcher, landscape historian or conservationist will thus require detailed information on what may still exist or what no longer remains on the site, as well as its context in order to document it.

Obviously, the Canadian sources presented reflect our vernacular style -- adaptations of gardening styles brought here as part of the cultural heritage of immigrants. In fact, the absence of literature on a Canadian garden style per se indicates the extensive influence of foreign garden traditions -- mostly from the United States and Britain. Although we recognize this strong influence, this vast literature is beyond this bibliography’s scope.

The bibliography has been limited to material on the history of designed (versus natural) gardens and landscapes, but includes publications on cultural landscapes in Canada, as well as contemporary literature on gardens, landscapes, orchards and market gardens existing before 1950. The usual bibliographic sources (library catalogues, bibliographies, periodical lists, the Internet, etc.) were consulted. This edition includes web links to publications where found. The listings under the authors are not a complete listing of their every published item.

This bibliography is built on the 1994 revision of the original A Selected Bibliography for Garden History in Canada, published by Parks Canada, which I compiled. The original bibliography was envisioned and supported by my mentor, Susan Buggey, who first set my feet on the garden history path. Sadly, Susan passed away in 2015 leaving a large gap in Canada’s study of its garden and landscape past.

Note on the Augmented edition, 2021: I have greatly added to the number of titles from the last revision in 2018. I have also added links to online electronic copies of various titles. All links have been tested.

Topics Included

The beginnings of Canadian garden history are characterized on one hand by the scientific study of nature (a carry over of European horticultural enthusiasm), and on the other by the settlers' pragmatic concerns over what plant material would survive in the North American climate. Therefore, representative primary sources are included on early botany, botanists and botanical exploration, flora, natural history and naturalists, and travel and immigrant literature. Some secondary sources dealing with the human response to the Canadian environment -- histories of pioneer life, comments on early gardens, and general overviews of our landscape traditions -- have also been noted. These sources reflect the frontier quality of our early gardens.

As Canada grew and prospered, subsistence was no longer a major concern. Leisure activities increased and gardening interests expanded. More and more, individuals realized the need for a greater variety of plants that would thrive in our severe climate and short growing season. By the 1860s, horticultural literature -- how to cultivate, propagate and maintain fruit, vegetable and flower gardens -- was increasing. Plant breeding and hardiness experiments were undertaken, with resulting publications, by the federal system of experimental farms established in the mid-1880s, college horticultural departments, and various levels of government. This access to new plant materials and tested plant material stimulated the publishing of literature on practical (home) landscaping. Alongside the landscaping literature blossomed a small number of publications on garden ornaments.

Interest in an expanded definition of landscapes and gardens under the broad classification of cultural landscapes is reflected in the inclusion of sources that examine the relationship of people to landscapes on a broad spectrum. Although the bibliography focusses on the designed rather than on the natural landscape and garden, material on national and provincial parks has been included.

As well, information relating to regional gardens of historical interest has been listed. Because of their special gardening requirements and characteristics, northern gardens have been treated separately. Another interesting subject is railway gardening – a reflection of its prominence in the late 1800s and early 1900s. School gardening -- horticulture as a moral influence and educator of the young -- was another early 20th century concern. The establishment, from the 1830s on, of botanical gardens and parks reflects two of the great 19th-century enthusiasms: scientific horticulture and urban environmental enrichment. The literature on early landscape architects and gardeners is meagre because many never published accounts of their work, design philosophy, or site plans, and few have yet been studied. The final area of interest examined is the publications of and about horticultural societies established in most cities by the mid-19th century.

For general reference purposes, a small, selected collection of allied bibliographies, histories, publications on historic garden sites and book collections has been included. General pictorial works dealing with landscapes offer a reminder of the importance of the visual record in studying the gardens of the past. A selection of contemporary Canadian literature on garden and landscape restoration has also been noted as a further reference aid. This section contains items on individual historic sites, as well as general guidelines for landscape conservation.

Topics Excluded

Peripheral concerns have not been included, such as town planning, settlement patterns and the many facets of agricultural technology, organizations, animal and plant material, and history. Trade catalogues (nursery, seed, etc.) have mostly been omitted. The large mass of unpublished material such as manuscripts, unpublished diaries, and typescripts (except theses) have been omitted. Although I have included the URLs for books, articles and theses, I have not included the links to publications that must be paid for.

British and American horticultural literature was available and read in Canada during the time period covered. However, these works were excluded because it is not known, on a national scale, which works were used, by whom, over how long a period and with what regional variations. Inclusion of this literature might lead one to believe that in the absence of specific Canadian evidence, one could confidently substitute British or American information. This would be highly inappropriate given the different climate, soils, topography, settlement patterns, etc., in Canada.

Despite the omissions, I hope the following bibliography will help those researching historic Canadian gardens and landscapes to tell their stories.

Chapter 1 - Reference

Alcock, F.J. [Frederick James]. A Century in the History of the Geological Survey of Canada. Ottawa: Canada Department of Mines and Resources, 1947. 94 pp.

Alderman, W.H. Development of Horticulture on the Northern Great Plains. St. Paul, Minnesota: Great Plains Region American Society for Horticulture Science, Terrace Horticultural Books, 1962. 198 pp.

Alexandrin, Barbara, and Robert Bothwell, comps. Bibliography of the Material Culture of New France. Publications in History No.4. Ottawa: National Museums of Canada, 1970. 32 pp.

Bailey, Liberty Hyde. Cyclopedia of American Horticulture, Comprising Suggestions for Cultivation of Horticultural Plants, Descriptions of the Species of Fruits. Vegetables, Flowers, and Ornamental Plants Sold in the United States and Canada, Together with Geographical and Biographical Sketches. 4 vols. New York: Macmillan, 1900-1902. Illus. http://ia600303.us.archive.org/18/items/cyclopediaofamer01bail1/cyclopediaofamer01bail1.pdf

Bloomfield, Elizabeth, with Linda Foster and Jane Forgay. Waterloo County to 1972: An Annotated Bibliography of Regional History. Guelph, Ontario: Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation, 1993. 780 pp. https://archive.org/details/waterloocountyto00bloo

Bogne, A.G. The Agricultural Press in Ontario in the 1880s. Ontario History, Vol. 38 (1946), pp. 43-50. Toronto.

Brown, Craig, ed. The Illustrated History of Canada. Toronto: Key Porter Books, 2000. 656 pp., illus.

Brown, George W. Building the Canadian Nation. Toronto: J.M. Dent & Sons, 1958. 580 pp., illus.

Buggey, Susan. Period Gardens in Canada: A Researcher's Resources. Research Bulletin No. 87. Ottawa: Parks Canada, 1978. 15 pp.

----- Les jardins historique au Canada: une des ressources du chercheur. Bulletin de Recherches, No. 87. Ottawa: Parcs Canada, 1978. 16 pp.

Cameron, Christina, comp. Index of Houses Featured in Canadian Homes and Gardens from 1925 to 1944. Canadian Inventory of Historic Buildings. Ottawa: Canadian Parks Service, 1980. 162 pp.

Canada. Department of Agriculture. Headquarters Library. Publications of the Canada Department of Agriculture 1867-1974. 2nd rev. ed., Ottawa, 1975, 341 pp.

----- Chapais Collection. 1976. 77 pp.

The Canadian Home, Farm and Business Cyclopaedia. Toronto; Whitby, Ontario: J.S. Robertson, 1884. 914 pp. https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.03837/1?r=0&s=1

Cappella, Katherine. Ontario’s First Farmers? Investigations into Princess Point and the Introduction of Horticulture to Ontario. M.A. thesis. Peterborough, ON: Trent University, 2006. 187 pp.

Crawford, Pleasance, and Sue Donaldson, eds. The Canadian Landscape and Garden History Directory. Calgary: Faculty of Environmental Design, University of Calgary, 1984. 54 pp.

Dakin, John, and Pamela Manson-Smith. Toronto Urban Planning: A Selected Bibliography, 1788-1970. Vance Bibliography No. 670. Monticello, Illinois: Council of Planning Librarians, 1974. 31 pp.

Dionne, Narcisse-Eutrope. Inventaire chronologique des livres, brochures, journaux et revues publiés en diverse langues dans et hors la province de Québec. 4 vols. Ottawa: J. Hope; Toronto: Copp-Clark; London: B. Quaritch, 1905-9. Premier supplement, 1904-1912. Published by author, Québec, 1912, 76 pp. Reprint: 2 vols., New York: B. Franklin, 1969. Reprint: 1 vol. New York: AMS Press, 1974.

Duke, Dorothy M., comp. Agricultural Periodicals Published in Canada, 1836-1960. Ottawa: Information Division, Department of Agriculture, 1962. 101 pp.

Duncan, Dorothy. Food, Fellowship, and Folklore. Canadians at Table: A Culinary History of Canada. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2006. 248 pp., illus.

Erskine, John S. The French Period in Nova Scotia A.D. 1500-1758 and Present Remains, A Historical, Archaeological and Botanical Survey. Wolfville, Nova Scotia: n.p., 1975. 55 pp., illus.

Fruit Growers’ Association of Ontario [FGAO]. 80 Years Highlights of History. FGAO, 1940. 16 pp.

Glentilcore, R. Louis, ed. Historical Atlas of Canada. II: The Land Transformed, 1800-1891. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1993. Illus.

Harris, R. Cole, ed. Historical Atlas of Canada. I: From the Beginning to 1800. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1987. Illus.

Kerr, Donald, and Deryck W. Holdsworth, eds. Historical Atlas of Canada. III: Addressing the Twentieth Century. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1990. 197 pp., illus.

Kingsbury, Noel. Hybrid: The History and Science of Plant Breeding. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009. 493 pp., illus.

Lauer, Bruce H. The Rage for Cheapness: Food Adulteration in the United Canadas and the Dominion 1850-1920. M.A. thesis. Ottawa: Carleton University, 1993. 230 pp. https://curve.carleton.ca/ccf724a3-6261-4ed5-a454-461fba5cfb95

Little, J.I. Canadian Pastoral: Promotional Images of British Colonization in Lower Canada’s Eastern Townships during the 1830s. Journal of Historical Geography, Vol. 29, No. 2 (2003), pp. 189-211.

Lord, Jules, comp. Bibliographie sur les grands domaines de la Communauté urbaine de Québec: villas, jardins et cimetières-jardins. Québec: Institut québécois de recherche sur la culture, 1992. 129 pp.

Lothian, W.F. A History of Canada's National Parks. 4 vols. Ottawa: Parks Canada, 1976-81. Illus.

Mackintosh, Philip G. Imagination and the Modern City: Reform and the Urban Geography of Toronto, 1890-1929. Ph.D. thesis. Kingston: Queen’s University, 2002. 478 pp., illus.

----- Asphalt Modernism on the Streets of Toronto, 1890–1900. Material Culture Review, Vol. 62 (Fall 2005). https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/MCR/article/view/18058/21931

----- ‘The Development of Higher Urban Life’ and the Geographic Imagination: Beauty, Art, and Moral Environmentalism in Toronto in the Early 1900s, Journal of Historical Geography, Vol. 31, Issue 4 (Oct. 2005), pp. 688-722.

Madill, Alonzo James. History of Agricultural Education in Ontario. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1930. 264 pp.

Manitoba. Department of Agriculture and Immigration. Books on Decorative Gardening in the Winnipeg Public Library. Circular 81. Winnipeg: 1926. 4 pp.

Markham, Susan E., comp. Research Bibliography: The Development of Parks and Playgrounds in Selected Canadian Prairie Cities, 1880-1930. Wolfville, Nova Scotia: Acadia University, 1989. 49 pp.

Marsh, John, comp. Scenery Evaluation and Landscape Perception: A Bibliography. Monticello, Illinois: Council of Planning Librarians, 1972. 9 pp.

M. Hicks & Co. Catalogue of a valuable collection of Canadiana and Americana: Also a general library including works on art, poetry, fiction, history, horticulture, agriculture, etc., rare works and first editions, Irish literature and religious literature, engineering works (that belonged to the late Captain Wright): Auction sale on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 29th, 30th and 31st May, commencing each day at 2.30 and 7.30 p.m. at our rooms 1821 and 1823 Notre Dame Street, on view Saturday, May 27, and morning of sale, M. Hicks & Co., auctioneers ... [Montréal?: s.n., 1899?]. 36 pp.

Moodie, D. Wayne. Historical Indian Gardens. The Prairie Garden. Winnipeg: Winnipeg Horticultural Society, 1987, pp. 122-125.

Murray, Jeffrey S. Terra Nostra: The Stories behind Canada's Maps, 1550-1950: From the collection of Library and Archives Canada. Georgetown, Ontario: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2006. 189 pp., illus.

Natural History Society of Montreal. Catalogue of the Library and Museum of the Natural History Society of Montreal. Montreal: Lovell and Gibson, 1846. 40 pp.

Neilson, Helen R. Macdonald College of McGill University, 1907-1988. Montreal: Corona Montreal, 1989. 231 pp., illus.

Nesmith, Tom. The Philosophy of Agriculture: The Promise of the Intellect in Ontario Farming, 1835-1914. Ph.D. thesis. Ottawa: Carleton University, 1988. 328 pp. https://curve.carleton.ca/fa66a158-f46c-4f09-a663-9e982cda5b3a

----- ‘Pen and Plough’ at Ontario Agricultural College, 1874-1910, Archivaria, Vol. 19 (Winter 1984-85), pp. 94-109.

Noble, Allen George. To Build in a New Land: Ethnic Landscapes in North America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992. 455 pp., illus.

Rasmussen, Karl. Trail Blazers of Canadian Agriculture. Ottawa: Agricultural Institute of Canada Foundation, 1995. 300 pp.

Reaman, George E. A History of Agriculture in Ontario. Vols. I and II. Toronto: Saunders, 1970. Illus.

Rempel, Sharon. A History of Gardens and Agriculture in Alberta. Calgary?: Alberta Historical Resources Foundation, 1996. 250 pages

Reynolds, J.B. Books for Farmers, Stockmen, Dairymen and Fruit Growers. [Toronto: Ontario Department of Agriculture, 1900?]. 8 pp.

Richardson, Marianna May, comp.