Heritage Gardens Clients

from 1830-1930 design expertise

Sharon Rempel has researched and designed gardens for the Hudson Bay Company (HBC) era; Victorian garden design from 1830 to 1890; 1908 to 1930s gardens; Jasper National Park train station and 'The Grist Mill at Keremeos' living history site. Other clients include Mennonite Heritage Village; Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village; Fort Steele Historic Town; Craigflower Farm; Highlands Historical Society (Edmonton).

HBC (Hudson Bay Agriculture)

Victorian Gardens 1850s

Craigflower Farm, Hudson Bay Company site, Victoria, B.C. (1850s). Research took me to East Lothian in Scotland, where the East India money of the 1830s to 1880s funded ‘state of the art’ innovative agriculture and horticultural practices, and new variety introductions. This style of agriculture drastically altered how people viewed public enclosures, crop rotations and soil fertility management.

The HBC Craigflower site was originally 600 acres and is now 3 acres in the heart of Victoria. Collaboration with Fort Vancouver, Vancouver Washington (1830s) allowed us to explore the first half of the Victorian era agriculture and horticulture. Extensive archival material was copied and is housed with The Land Conservancy in Victoria, B.C. In 2003 they became the site managers of Craigflower Farm.

Victorian Gardens 1880s and 1890s

The Grist Mill at Keremeos, B.C. (1880s). The water powered flour mill was an industrial site during the time of its operation. When I came to the site in 1987 as Chief Interpreter I wanted to bring some 'living artifacts' into a garden. Research for the late Victorian era explored varieties and trends in gardens. Mill builder Barrington Price was the nephew of Sir Uvedale Price (knighted for his work in the Picturesque Landscape Movement, late 1700s in England).

Historic research and our eventual landscape and garden design process for The Grist Mill is documented in the Okanangan Historical Society report issue 55 pages 24-29.

We decided to ‘reconstitute’ a garden, but not intending to replicate a garden, because historically gardens were not on site during the Mill’s operational era, we planted Circle Gardens on the site to keep with the round pulley wheels in the Mill. The site was maintained using the period appropriate ‘Picturesque’ philosophy.

The gardens had period appropriate plants but were not attempting to be recreations of period gardens. The Zucca Melon was one of the most significant plants on the site, attracting visitors from across the Continent.

A Living Museum of Wheat was planted at The Grist Mill at Kermeos including Red Fife wheat, Ladoga, Bishop, Preston, Stanley, Hard Red Calcutta, Marquis and Stanley. This was the begnning of the Heritage Wheat Project.

Sharon Rempel wrote on contract for the B.C. Heritage Properties a Site Inventory (1989); Interpretation Plans, Master Plans, Maintenance and Zoning plans and Educational programs were researched and compiled for The Grist Mill at Kermeos.

Extensive archival material was copied and was housed with Jennifer Iredale, Heritage Properties, Victoria, B.C.

In 2003 The Grist Mill at Kermeos site management went into the hands of contractors who could not maintain the integrity of the 1980s golden era of gardens and wheat fields at the site. The quality of the gardens and interpretation of the site and gardens is not as it was in the 1980s and early 1990s when Sharon Rempel was Head Gardener and Chief Interpreter.

Fort Steele Heritage Town 1890s

Fort Steele is located outside of Cranbrook, B.C. The 1890s boom town attracted people of all classes to the region. Research for the gardens and landscape provided an extensive overview of period appropriate trends and plants.

In 2000 Sharon Rempel researched and designed extensive garden plans for six homes on the site. To date none of the contract work gardens have been planted. The work included a Shakespear Garden; a German four square design and a Landscape vista plan for the site.

In 2003 the site management changed hands. Archival material copied for this project work and final report were housed on site with the Site Manager.

Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village 1990s

The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village is located near Edmonton Alta. The settlers came to the region from the Ukraine in the early 1900s. Sharon Rempel wrote Collections Policy for the Site. Recommendations included further collaboration work with historic sites and the Gene Bank in Ukraine to determine varieties that might have been brought over with Ukrainian immigrants.

Poppies and garlic were suggested as theme plants and suggestion made to establish ‘national collections’ of both plants. This would add “uniqueness and integrity” to site garden collections. Alberta Culture commissioned the work.

Mennonite Heritage Village 1990s

The Mennonite Heritage Village is located near Steinbach Manitoba. Settlers began arriving in the early 1900s. Sharon Rempel did consultation work, made research recommendations, suggested Interpretation strategies and collections management for the site.

Highlands neighbourhood, Edmonton 1908

Sharon Rempel had a contract with the Highlands Historical Society in Edmonton, Alberta to research two heritage homes in the Highlands. A landscape and garden design was developed for the 1908 period.

The research for this project included an extensive study of upper middle class Ontario people to try and understand the thinking of those who came to Alberta to make money as developers of an upper class new subdivision in the early 1900s. Planting lists and garden designs included an ‘Arts and Crafts’ interpretation garden to suit one of the homes.

The information compiled were transferred to the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation, funders of the research project work.

Jasper National Park Train Station 1920s

Parks Canada contracted Sharon Rempel to research and design a garden for the Train Station in Jasper National Park, Jasper, Alberta. The era chosen was the 1920s.

Railway gardens were popular across Canada as places to recreate while the train was stopped, as well as used in advertisements for the region’s supposed beauty and prosperity. Some of Canada's immigration propaganda showed the railway gardens in towns. Canadian Pacific and Canadian National both had garden competitions for the best railway garden.

Yet there is very little information compiled about the process of design for a railway garden. Some publications by Edwinna von Bayer mention railway gardens generally.

Sharon assessed the visitor expectation today in Jasper; the heavy site use in summer by train travellers; the fragile alpine ecosystem plants and a short growing season added to the challenge of this site garden interpretation and design.

Historic Integrity and Ecological Integrity in National Parks clash with modern visitor expections and low staffing budgets unless a multidisciplinary approach is taken to restoration work.

Materials compiled for this project are with the Parks Canada Calgary office, Terry Arnett.