Pioneer Gardening in Toronto: the trees, plants, & lore of George Leslie
By Pat Anderson
()
About this ebook
Plant a mid-Victorian garden! In search of some old heritage fruits and vegetables? Maybe it would help to have the names of a few roses, or dahlias, or phlox that were grown back in those days.
George Leslie advertised in Toronto in 1869 that he had the largest Nurseries in the British Empire, occupying over 150 acres. One of the early members of Toronto's Horticulture Society, George Leslie and Sons Nurseries provided planting material for market gardeners and gentry alike.
For the first time since Victorian times, here is his gardening advice for planting fruit trees, grapes, roses and phlox, and compiled lists of over 1000 trees and plants he sold (he carried over 100 apple varieties, 88 pear varieties, and 120 different roses), This information has been compiled from two catalogues, dated 1853 and 1860. This book provides modern Ontario sources for some of these heritage varieties, where the author has been able to find them, as well as links to websites providing information about heritage apples and other notes.
Pat Anderson
I am a writer and photographer based in Toronto. My main areas of interest are urban nature, gardening, and field-to-table food. A graduate of the University of Waterloo in English, I have been a technical writer and editor for over 20 years; I also hold a Horticulture 1 certificate from the University of Guelph, and am currently studying Food & Product Photography at George Brown College.
Related to Pioneer Gardening in Toronto
Related ebooks
The Practical Flower Garden Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPlanting Native to Attract Birds to Your Yard Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFruit Key and Twig Key to Trees and Shrubs Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLandscaping with Native Plants of Minnesota Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Good Gardener Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Modern Flower Garden - 6. Lilies - With Chapters on Lily Species and Propagation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGarden Wildlife: Revealing Your Garden's Secrets Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBulbs for Warm Climates Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPlant Science for Gardeners: Essentials for Growing Better Plants Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGardening with Perennials: Lessons from Chicago's Lurie Garden Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rose to the Occasion: Easy-Growing Gardening, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEcoviews Too: Ecology for All Seasons Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Organic Garden Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Grow Wild: A Beginner's Guild to Growing Wildflowers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummer Wildflowers of the Northeast: A Natural History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDarwin's Most Wonderful Plants: A Tour of His Botanical Legacy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Weekly Gardener Volume 4: January - July 2013 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHidden Natural Histories: Trees Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wonders of the Plant Kingdom: A Microcosm Revealed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Grow Wild: How to Build a Prairie Garden Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The Book of Field and Roadside: Open-Country Weeds, Trees, and Wildflowers of Eastern North America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wildflower Wonders: The 50 Best Wildflower Sites in the World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Art of Hummingbird Gardening: How to Make Your Backyard into a Beautiful Home for Hummingbirds Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAll About Weeds Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Protecting Pollinators: How to Save the Creatures that Feed Our World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5His Imperial Majesty: A Natural History of the Purple Emperor Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWildflowers of the Eastern United States: An Introduction to Common Species of Woods, Wetlands and Fields Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGardening Naturally Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA History of Zinnias: Flower for the Ages Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Wildlife Gardener Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Gardening For You
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - 10th anniversary edition: A Year of Food Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Self-Sufficient Backyard Homestead Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alchemy of Herbs - A Beginner's Guide: Healing Herbs to Know, Grow, and Use Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Complete Medicinal Herbal: A Practical Guide to the Healing Properties of Herbs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Weekend Homesteader: A Twelve-Month Guide to Self-Sufficiency Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Big Book of Backyard Medicine: The Ultimate Guide to Home-Grown Herbal Remedies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGardening Hacks: 300+ Time and Money Saving Hacks Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Edible Wild Plants Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cannabis Grow Bible: The Definitive Guide to Growing Marijuana for Recreational and Medical Use Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Your Indoor Herb Garden: Growing and Harvesting Herbs at Home Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gardening Without Work Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Year-Round Indoor Salad Gardening: How to Grow Nutrient-Dense, Soil-Sprouted Greens in Less Than 10 days Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Self-Sufficiency Handbook: Your Complete Guide to a Self-Sufficient Home, Garden, and Kitchen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Floret Farm's Cut Flower Garden: Grow, Harvest, and Arrange Stunning Seasonal Blooms Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Backyard Homesteading: A Back-to-Basics Guide to Self-Sufficiency Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Midwest-The Lost Book of Herbal Remedies, Unlock the Secrets of Natural Medicine at Home Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Floriography: An Illustrated Guide to the Victorian Language of Flowers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Practical Botany for Gardeners: Over 3,000 Botanical Terms Explained and Explored Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Herbalist's Bible: John Parkinson's Lost Classic Rediscovered Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Language of Flowers: A Definitive and Illustrated History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Square Foot Gardening: A Beginner's Guide to Square Foot Gardening at Home Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Companion Planting - The Lazy Gardener's Guide to Organic Vegetable Gardening Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Houseplants 101: How to choose, style, grow and nurture your indoor plants: The Green Fingered Gardener, #4 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Backyard Pharmacy: Growing Medicinal Plants in Your Own Yard Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Square Foot Gardening: How To Grow Healthy Organic Vegetables The Easy Way Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Pioneer Gardening in Toronto
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Pioneer Gardening in Toronto - Pat Anderson
Pioneer Gardening in Toronto: the trees, plants, & lore of George Leslie
by Pat Anderson
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2012 Pat Anderson
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Table of Contents
Preface
Chapter 1: George Leslie’s Lore and Wisdom
His catalogue introduction
Hints for properly transplanting trees
Gardening advice for different fruit trees and plants
Gardening advice for Hedges and flowering plants
Chapter 2: Fruit and Vegetables
Fruit trees
Minor fruits
Miscellaneous edible trees
Vegetables
Chapter 3: Trees, Shrubs & Hedges
Deciduous Ornamental Trees
Weeping Trees
Evergreen Trees & Shrubs
Deciduous Flowering Shrubs
Climbing Shrubs
Hedge Plants
Chapter 4: The Flower Garden
Select Roses
Dahlias
Peonies
Phloxes
Miscellaneous Florists Flowers
Bedding-out Plants
Bulbous Flower Roots
Plants for Edging Walk
Select List of Hardy Herbaceous Perennial Flowering Plants
Greenhouse Plants
Stocks for Nurserymen
Chapter 5: Online Nursery Links
Glossary of Terms
About the Author
Preface
My search for the plants George Leslie & Sons Nurseries were selling began shortly after I moved to Leslieville, when I learned that my house was one of the earlier ones built on his land. I wanted to plant some heritage perennials, shrubs, and annuals -- especially ones that people were growing here in Toronto in the 1890’s, possibly even from the George Leslie and sons Nurseries.
Searches at my local library and Toronto Archives, while they yielded information about the history of the area, weren't able to tell me much about what plants were grown at the largest nurseries in the British Empire, as George advertised them. What did people grow in their flower gardens, their vegetable beds? What fruits did they grow and preserve?
Over time, I kept checking things out -- a horticulture specialist in Niagara mentioned on a Master Gardener forum that a book had been published. I bought it. Alas, it was about The Toronto Nurseries that existed on the west side of town back in the 1820’s, not the one I was looking for. Online searches, trips to antiquarians, rare book dealers, ephemera shows: none of them yielded information. A trip to the Baldwin Room of early Canadian papers at the Toronto Reference Library resulted in a single find of a business card filed under George Leslie's name.
My search lay dormant for a few years after that, until this past fall, when I learned that Joanne Doucette would be giving a lecture about George Leslie's history. I attended her talk, and discovered that I had been in the right place but searching under the wrong subject. Back to the Baldwin Room. This time, I looked up The Toronto Nurseries. It turned up a print of the supplemental catalogue, as Joanne said it would. Further electronic searching revealed a microfiche version of another catalogue. The larger catalogue was published in 1853 for the 1854 growing season. The supplemental catalogue dates to 1860, according to the library. I have combined the plant lists from both catalogues to reduce duplication yet ensure a complete listing. The Toronto Nurseries grew substantially between the publication of the two catalogues; in 1853, Leslie stated that his nurseries were 70 acres; by 1860, he noted in the abridged catalogue Our Nurseries now extend over 165 acres. The Stock will be found extensive, varied, vigorous and suitable to the climate. Particular attention is drawn to the Stock of Ornamental Trees and Flowering Shrubs, which is very large and of first quality.
Many thanks to Joanne Doucette for pointing me in the right direction. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Eileen Woodhead, whose Early Canadian Gardening: An 1827 Nursery Catalogue is a delight of historical research and clear writing. I wish I had had the opportunity to meet her in life.
As we lead in to another century -- one even faster and less certain than the last, many people yearn for a simpler time.
Sometimes we can recreate that feeling by gardening. It certainly has a different time span than our hectic modern lives, and although you can force bulbs, you can’t make many plants hurry up, so you have to live by their schedule. There’s something very satisfying, after weeding, watering, and tending to plants, of harvesting a fruit or vegetable, or bringing in a bouquet of flowers, dewy in the early morning.
Now that Toronto has banned the non-essential use of pesticides, there may be something we can learn from earlier times about sustainable gardening. More information is online all the time: Google has now digitized a number of gardening books from