~«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
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