~«Heritage Gardens. pure offspring | by Harriett Kjaagesund Uf you’ ve visited Heritage - . “Park ‘recently: you -may. have’ noticed . a. “small. garden patch _ “tucked away. behind. the old .-Kalum. Lake Hotel. much: the same as any other . small garden grown more for or- 7 Ramental than practical. puposes =a few: flowers, ‘some rose 7 bushes, Strawberry. plants, - . clumps of chives and strawberry _ -also have a built-in resistance to . . most diseases and pests. ° hybrid. varieties ‘that’ have lost. hard to save - this “precious ; resource: They have: established ‘- country: are growing. a variety of « . heritage plants, collecting seeds © ‘and tubérs and. turning * them. . back ‘over.to the Heritage’: Seed” Program . where’ _ they. are. redistributed. - are. always’ ‘looking : for: more ° you: ~ something that’ is. quite’ ald ‘or’ -you’ve:, bought: an’ older. place © . thubarb, clean brown earth. . But. unlike other gardens, the . . plants in this. Heritage Garden - are the pure offspring of plants, ’ that have been growing in our area for possibly seventy years or more. With the exception of the chives which are probably not very old, there is not a single ‘hybrid among them. — The flowers came from Mrs. Elizabeth Cooper’s garden on -McDonald Road, now the 4800 block of Lazelle Avenue; the _ Strawberry rhubarb is from Frank’s farm on the west side of Terrace; and the strawberries, Skeena Wonder, came from the Crescent Hill Brothers farm that was located in the Queensway Drive area. we Growing beside the hotel is another heritage plant; a giant rose.bush. This bush was found . beside the hotel in its original location at Kalum Lake and was moved along with the hotel. At ‘the front and back of the pro- perty are two lilac trees! No-one seems to know: exactly ‘where they came from, but:they are in- credibly old. What makes all of these plants _and trees so special, apart from the fact that they are part of our heritage, |i is that they” are a genetic resource. Because they have not been crossed, enhance certain aspects, such as color or size, they breed true, meaning that there is no genetic weakness hidden within the plant that will affect the survival +]. of future generations, = And because they are com- .pletely . climatized, these plants are able to flourish under almost any. condition, be it drought or . poor soil or harsh winters. They. _ More ‘and ° more scientists are now . looking to the past to strengthen today’s. weaker * these. basic characteristics. The Heritage Seed. Program i in. Uxbridge, Ontario: is’ working a’ nation-wide seed ° bank;: ‘dedicated people across: the rn ‘The garden: at: Heritage Park: WAS ‘begun. four years ago.. They : lieritage plants. They ask that if: ° ‘think. - you | may - have: and plan, on. cleaning: out. the. -\.yard,: please; give. them ‘a: ‘call-ae * the plant, such as who planted it. | It looks | shapes. But sacrifices have also ' fertilizers and pesticides to bring . these plants to fruition is taking or hybridized, to ~ 635-4546. It’s also helpfui if Sa have any background history on Modern science has given us an amazing variety of hybrids, plants with higher yields, | brighter colors, and. amazing been made. Many of our hybrids have. little, or no. tolerance to diseases oe “pests or weather changes. The: overall effect. on our environment is enormous — the increased use of chemical its toll.. . HERITAGE GARDEN at Herltage F Park i isa collection of pure cfspring of plants that have! been If we are going to go to the © growing i in our area for possibly’ seventy years or more, = trouble of saving and restoring cee, ee our heritage buildings and ar- tifacts, it is equally important we save the remaining heritage plants we have left. This living link with our past may very well be the answer to future food: shortages and a cleaner environ- ment. If you'd like to know more about the Heritage Seed Pro- gram, write to : HERITAGE SEED PROGRAM RRS, UXBRIDGE, ONTARIO. LOC 1K0 The person in charge of the program..is:-Heather..Apple:..A menibership will cost you $10.00 per year, but you can donate more if you wish. Their publica- tion comes out three times a year. GROWING BESIDE THE KALUM HOTEL at Heritage Park is a rose bush found in front of the hote! at its original location on Kalum Lake, The bush was transplanted along with the hotel. Te saga “me , a>: RT “SECURITY | TROLS