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Old Baldy & Centre spread: Thank you for producing such

◀ The Kitchen Garden at , Hamilton, has been restored Photographs by Mike Davis to resemble the way it was in the Written by Gloria Hildebrandt a beautiful magazine. What a 1850s. Visitors especially enjoy seeing garden staff and volunteers bright touch of spring on another Formerly Views Stories in their period costumes. windy winter day! I picked up from the

Last year, the Carnegie Secrets Gallery of Dundas held a copy at Picone’s today and its Secret Gardens 20th anniversary tour on June Kitchen 2. The next weekend, Georgetown Horticultural also noticed the information Society let people Through Touring to the Garden Gate to see eight selected properties. Interest in these tours Garden at seems to be only – well, about our upcoming Garden growing: ticket sales for ▲ Simon Taylor, coordinator of the Beyond the Dundas tour were up Flowerpot estate’s historic garden, delights 50 per cent from last year. in sharing and hearing stories about the garden’s history. The long winter of Dundurn Tour. Once again, thank you for dreaming about gardens, to start their gardens in April planning improvements, and compete to see who could wanting to get busy, ends grow the best flowers.” with a spring of melting snow and worrying Last of Authentic Restoration your help! Glad to meet you at the Eco The diaries of MacNab’s changes of temperature Castle daughters were just one until suddenly it’s the Gates early June and there is Written and photographed by Helen Powers source of information used to absolutely everything to Larkwhistle recreate the two-acre garden Sharon McCann via email do at once: buys seeds, Festival in Oakville! Enjoyed Hamilton has many beautiful heritage properties which tell in its original location, a plants and amendments, stories from the past and show us how people lived here in short walk from the house. cultivate beds, plant! And Garden different eras. One of the most famous is Dundurn Castle, “The fact that the garden then there are the private a stunning mansion built by Sir Allan MacNab on a 50-acre gate has a direct axis to the Cabot Head estate overlooking Hamilton Bay. This property has been the drawing room door shows garden tours. They take up a precious weekend day the free copies, and thought we [Editor’s note: Letters continue setting of many stories during its lifetime and the kitchen how important this part of the when you could/should garden played a surprising number of different roles. Today property was to the family,” be in your own garden, Wonderful Lightstation it stands in its original glory, having been restored as a living explains Taylor. As one of the but how fabulous and example of sustenance, beauty and social activity in 1855. prettiest rooms in the house, inspiring it is to see what should subscribe. Best wishes. to arrive re the photo in our the drawing room was often others have achieved! Here ir Allan MacNab was a railway line. The MacNab dramatic visual backdrop to and growing Hamilton with its estate in that period and they used for entertaining and this is some of what people Canal Vacation local politician for 30 family home was finished in the community, it was the abundant assets. spent time out on the land, included strolling through the saw last year in Dundas years and the premier 1836 and today there are 40 property’s location at the Simon Taylor, coordinator walking and talking, and beautiful garden. ▲ Private yet inviting, this end of and Georgetown. nev Summer 2013 of from 1854 restored rooms on three floors head of Lake that of Dundurn’s historic garden, going to market,” he says. “It A landscape architect a large house on Sixth Line near Sto 1856. He was involved in which delight and educate was important to MacNab. feels the kitchen garden was functional in that it fed created a restoration plan Ross & Margaret Wark, (June, July, Dundurn Castle Kitchen Garden Georgetown is surrounded by lavish August) many high-profile initiatives thousands of visitors each year. He wanted to establish his adds a great dimension to people, impressed people and based on archeological plantings providing both seasonal Continued including the establishment Although the Niagara own opportunity away from understanding the family’s it is where the girls talked blooms and year-round appeal. ▶ 16 of Hamilton’s first bank and Escarpment provided a Toronto and be part of vibrant life. “This was a working about how delightful it was 17 16 Spring 2014 17 Spring 2014 Spring ▶ Spring Oakville www.NEViews.ca feature from Spring 2013.] 2013 2013

Editor’s note: Response to Heather Lynn sent me a copy Last August my wife and I Don Scallen on his feature of Niagara Escarpment Views were in Bruce County for the “Endangered, Iconic Jefferson that has your article. It is great, first time (although we are Salamander:” and I really am pleased that you otherwise well-travelled) to were able to put together the attend the Summerfolk folk science and the importance of festival in and the Escarpment for conserving spend four days on Manitoulin Written and photographed The Jefferson salamander stirs as snowmelt trickles into her subterranean realm. Endangered, by Don Scallen Bare-skinned, soft-bodied and scarcely as thick as an index finger, she crawls methodically upwards through fissures in the dolomite rock. Then, gaining the surface and finding that a protective cloak of darkness has settled over the forest, she creeps into the leaf litter. this very interesting salamander. I Island. I picked up several er keen olfactory months, until the revolving Secrets Yet to Learn sense registers the Earth again tilts the northern The scarcity of Jefferson odour wafting from a hemisphere towards the sun. salamanders and the brief Iconic particular vernal pool – I’ve watched Jefferson window of opportunity to always have a difficult time trying issues of your magazine over H“her” pond, the one where she salamanders over many springs. observe them above ground, hatched and the one she has I find it astonishing that these means we undoubtedly have returned to every spring for a small vertebrates, bereft of a lot to learn about them. Jim dozen years. fur or scales, can thrive in Bogart, Professor Emeritus At the pond she slips temperatures that leave their at the University of Guelph to explain the situation to a general the week and was quite into the ring of open water human observers, wrapped and the pre-eminent Jefferson Jefferson surrounding the largely in winter parkas, shivering salamander expert in Canada, ice-covered surface. The pondside. Some years they says “One would think temperature of the water is even arrive at the ponds before studying a species for over 30 scarcely above zero, but still winter has lapsed. On March years would reveal all of their audience and I hope your article impressed with your goals for fully adequate for Jefferson 18, 2012 I found Jefferson secrets but I think we are still salamander breeding. Within a salamanders breeding at a in the initial stages.” few days she will mate, lay her pond near Terra Cotta. Freshly During his decades of Salamander precious eggs and then retreat laid eggs were clustered along Jefferson salamander research will be read and appreciated by it and with its content and back underground where she submerged branches. Bogart focused on their will remain for the next 11 These egg masses are perplexing genetics. What he smaller than those of the more discovered was astonishing. abundant Spotted salamander. He found that Jefferson Whereas a Spotted salamander salamanders, along with other people who can make a difference. appearance. Because I grew ▲ The endangered Jefferson egg mass can approach the size species of related salamanders, salamander returns each spring of a closed fist and contain 200 live alongside a fifth column to the forest pool where she was or so eggs, a typical Jefferson of all female clones that hatched, to lay her own eggs. egg mass is about thumb-sized, perpetuate themselves, in Photographed in March, the up in Oshawa and have spent containing generally, from 10 Bogart’s words, by “stealing Jim Bogart, Professor Emeritus, beginning of the breeding season, to 60 eggs. sperm from the males.” this vernal pool is on the Niagara Escarpment near Terra Cotta. Continued ▶ University of Guelph most of my career in Ottawa, I 28 Spring 2014 29 Spring 2014 have only a general familiarity with the Niagara Escarpment, Thank you so much for your Meaford’s Beautiful Joe Park: and the issues I read effectively amazing magazine Niagara showed why the Escarpment is

Pop quiz: Can you name the first Canadian novel to sell Escarpment Views! I would never one million copies during important (and the passion you the author’s lifetime? No? I’ll give you a few A Place hints. It was published in 1894. The author was have found out about Beautiful born in the Maritimes, and, and Mike Davis bring to it). The lady in the Kitchen Garden is now in the Mayor’s Showcase here Helen Powers’ excellent photo at the time of her death, she was called “Canada’s most revered author.” If you guessed Anne of Green Joe and Meaford’s Beautiful Joe Gables, you would be wrong. Doug Yonson, retired reporter in Georgetown. of Dundurn Castle’s kitchen forWritten by Ken Haigh Photographed by Mike DavisJoe Park. Your article, “A Place for and copy editor at the Diane Miller, Georgetown garden, and Diane Miller’s Joe,” tears were rolling down my Ottawa Citizen, Nepean subsequent painting of it, do face when I read it. I will contact make a great starting point of the Beautiful Joe Heritage Society how to see this magical place. as well. Maybe in time when I My name is Viv Baker and But you need to acknowledge can afford it, maybe it will be I’m one of the Directors of the gaze of the woman in the

possible to place a plaque there to ▲ Margaret Marshall Saunders’ the Beautiful Joe Heritage When I took that last summer image. Her name is also Helen – famous novel was inspired by true eed another clue? events that happened in Meaford. How about this: the story is based on true ◀ Beautiful Joe Park near events which took remember the helpless street dogs downtown Meaford celebrates Nplace in Meaford, Ontario. Society. This is a little late, but I didn’t even see the bee until Helen Sluis. She is not a model, animal welfare and commemorates Give up? the heart-wrenching novel The novel is Beautiful Joe by about an abused dog Margaret Marshall Saunders. who becomes a hero. in Sochi who were slaughtered by ▶ I and the rest of the Directors I looked back over the photo. nor is her gaze affected. Each a private “killing” company hired 20 Winter 2013-14 21 Winter 2013-14 LOVED your article in Winter’s Happy mistake! year she works many hundreds by the Sochi government to prepare for the Olympic Games in Sochi, edition on the Park and indeed, your sentiments regarding the book… Sherrie Louth, Georgetown of hours in that ghastly hot Russia. I will write a personal letter to President Putin as well to voice from the Editor’s Desk. I am charged with the odious task of writing dress making the kitchen garden my outrage… I will quote the words of Margaret Marshall Saunders in the quarterly newsletter and I have a request. I wonder if you would [Editor’s note: Possibly a into a place where beautiful honour and memory of Margaret and Beautiful Joe, her message being consider allowing me to put your Editor’s Desk article in our Winter Brown-belted bumble bee?] photographs can be taken. In a “Be kind to dumb animals not only because you will lose nothing by it, Newsletter. It will be available on our website and will hopefully be very real sense, the composition but because you ought to; for they were placed on earth by the same well viewed. It’s always a challenge, when you Volunteer, to apportion of the photo is as much hers as Kind Hand that made all living creatures.” Tears again were rolling the necessary time and consideration to things like a Newsletter, but anybody’s. And yes, she is indeed down my face when I read this Gloria… Thank you Gloria for spreading here at BJHS we never give up! as beautiful and impressive as the the word and bringing awareness to the Beautiful Joe Park in Meaford. I am in the process of writing it and await your approval. image suggests. I will pass this on to all I know. I can’t wait to visit there and pay my Many, many thanks again for highlighting Beautiful Joe in such a Christopher Redford, respects, especially to Beautiful Joe and Margaret Marshall Saunders. “beautiful” way. Heritage Presentation Brenda Townson, Burlington Viv Baker, Beautiful Joe Heritage Society Co-ordinator, Tourism & Culture Division, Editor’s note: “A Place for Joe” was written by Ken Haigh. City of Hamilton

8 Summer 2014 9 Summer 2014