Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
BR2014.18.1 |
Object Name |
Catalog |
Scope & Content |
A catalogue for Rowancroft Gardens, Meadowvale. Consists of a paper stapled booklet with a gold front and back cover. Printed on the cover in red text is: Rowancroft Gardens Catalogue Number Nineteen Perennial Plants Alpine Shrubs Vines. Meadowvale Ontario Canada. Established 1914. Inside the cover is a maple of where the gardens are located, 2 miles from Derry West. With the text: 'Rowancroft Gardens, Meadowvale is Twenty Miles from Toronto in the County of Peel on the Credit River. Come and see this garden bring us your garden problems'. Booklet is printed with black text on 33 numbered pages and has some blank pages at the end to include handwritten notes. Contents inside include a catalogue of perennial plants, alpines, shrubs, and vines. It is divided into sections of herbs, roses, shrubs and trees, and vines. In the back of the book, there is also an index of names of plants on the back page. |
History |
Rowancroft Gardens was located immediately west of Meadowvale Village, south of Old Derry Road. It was established in 1914 by Miss Mary E. Blacklock who purchased five acres of land in the Meadowvale area of Toronto Township. The gardens were located west of Highway 10 (Centre Rd) and east side of the Credit River; she had introduced French peonies and lilacs to the area. She also had a two-storey Georgian-style home on the property that still stands at 1160 Old Derry Road. By the 1920s, her business was thriving and many people visited to learn more from Miss Blacklock and her associate Miss Minerva Castle who had extensive plant knowledge. Miss Castle was a founding member of the Credit Valley Conservation Authority in 1954 and was also active with the Toronto Garden Club. Mary Blacklock passed away in 1956 at her home in her 96th year. Minerva Castle became a partner of Rowancroft Gardens with a woman by the name of Miss Ethel Winter. The garden was in operation as late as 1973. Miss Castle sold the property before she passed away in January 1976. References: Meadowvale: Mills to Millennium. Kathleen A. Hicks. Mississauga Library System, 2004 Rowancroft Garden History. Canadian Peony Society. Saturday, April 3rd, 2010 https://canadianpeonysociety.blogspot.com/2010/04/rownacroft-garden-history.html Careers for Women. Built Meadowvale Nursery, Miss M.E. Blacklock Now 86. Eva-Lis Wurorio. The Globe and Mail, July 3rd, 1946 Deaths, Minerva S. Castle, The Globe and Mail. January 3rd, 1976 |
Title |
Rowancroft Gardens Catalogue Number Nineteen |
People |
Blacklock, Mary E. Castle, Minerva |