Waterloo Region Museum

Gardens

The Martin Farm Garden

The garden behind the Martin house is restored as a traditional "four-square" kitchen garden. It was the duty of the housewife to tend this garden, to grow fresh fruit and vegetables in summer and preserve enough for winter use. It was also an escape from the burdens of the kitchen, planted with simple flowers, a place for a few moments of leisure and beauty.

Religious symbols are found everywhere in Mennonite life. The four-square design symbolizes the garden of Eden, and there are several plants which represent Adam and Eve here. The Tree of Life would have stood at the intersection of the paths, where the yucca is often used as a substitute. Large crops, like potatoes and sweet corn, would have been planted in a separate row garden called a "truck patch" or schtick. The kitchen garden was mainly for smaller vegetables and flowers. Culinary herbs were important in the kitchen, and medicines were still made according to generations-old lore.

The McArthur House Garden

The front garden beds at the Peter McArthur house are the only gardens at Doon Heritage Village that are restored to a documented historical plan. We have photos of the house and gardens as they appeared at the turn of the century, and detailed information about the plants which were in the yard and garden.

The flowerbeds contain peonies, oriental poppies, asters, zinnias, pinks and salpiglossis, among others. Of these, asters were the most popular at the time. Literally hundreds of different varieties, colours, shapes and sizes of asters were available by mail order from seed companies throughout Canada and the U.S. For five cents, any gardener could obtain a package of the finest aster seeds.

The garden at the rear of the McArthur House has been divided in half and contains many useful household herbs such as Lady's Bedstraw (a substitute for rennet used in cheese making); Angelica, a popular treat when the stems are candied; lavender, rosemary, marjoram and many more. The other half of the garden has been made into a kale yard. This area is full of cole crops such as cabbage, chard, kale, turnips and mustards - all of which were staples in the McArthur family diet.

The Seibert House Garden

This garden is purely decorative, since the Seiberts do not have to grow their own food. In a rural area it would have been a status symbol to have an entire garden devoted to leisure, and much of the garden work could have been hired or perhaps done by one of the Sararas children.

The Seibert family is not especially wealthy, although it is easy to get this impression by contrasting their belongings with those of the Sararas family. Even so, Mrs. Seibert enjoys a reasonably high status in the village, and often entertains guests in her garden.

The geometrical beds of annuals are a memory of Mrs. Seibert's Victorian-era childhood. This style of garden was falling out of fashion in England by this time, but lived on in Canada for several years. The designs are meant to be viewed from a distance, but visitors are invited to enter the garden, walk the many paths and explore.

Annual flowers were appreciated both for their continuous colour, and for their novelty. Many of our favourite annual species were brought from the tropics during Queen Victoria's reign, and were incorporated into late-nineteenth century gardens as novel plants.

The tree at the back of the garden is a mulberry tree, which bears abundant berries from late June until early August. The shady area under the tree is planted with several kinds of forest and riparian wildflowers and ferns. There was a major revival of interest in wildflowers beginning around 1890. By this time, a whole generation had grown up in a developed, civilized Ontario, and was not contemptuous of the wilderness, as their pioneer grandparents had been.

The Sararas-Bricker Farm Garden

At the Sararas farmhouse, there is a long row garden which provides an ample supply of tomatoes, squash, beans, peas, beets, carrots, lettuce and other vegetables to help feed the family.

The garden is divided into several sections. One section is fenced with poultry netting to keep animals out, and this area is used for the vegetables such as peas, cabbage and lettuce which rabbits find tastiest. The Sararas family grows much of their own food, either in the kitchen garden or in fields (not part of our restoration). What they do not grow themselves, they purchase in trade for their extra harvest.

Whereas the Martin garden demonstrates traditional gardening methods and formats, the Sararas garden represents the kitchen garden of an up-to-date 1914 farm. These farmers would have been using chemical insecticides, probably some fungicides, and possibly artificial fertilizers, though manure was still the fertilizer of choice for most gardens.

It is important to the family that their house and yard appear prosperous and well-maintained. They have planted colourful daylilies and roses along the garden fence and landscaped the area to the side of the house. Most families maintained at least a small area of lawn where they could sit and play games. The arc of Bridalwreath spirea encloses the lawn and separates it from the forest behind, giving the yard and house a cultured look.

Mrs. Sararas grows a small herb and flower garden near the pump. The herbs are used in cooking, so they are kept close to the kitchen. Some of the herbs are thyme, winter savoury, sage, chives, hyssop and lemon balm.

The orchard contains a selection of typical turn-of-the-century apple trees, including Roxbury Russet, Maiden's Blush, Yellow Transparent, Alexander, and Tolman Sweet, as well as pear trees. The trees are standard size, as was typical at the time, and will eventually reach a height of 20-25 feet.