In a Victorian Garden Dalnavert Museum
by Jennifer Bisch Delphinium and valerian make a happy couple. The heady scent of the valerian will perfume the entire garden — then populate it, too. I
You know it's a happy garden when the bees take up residence. This buzzy customer is supping on thalic- trum.
46 • Fall 2016
n Winnipeg, a city blessed with both a rich history and a beauti- ful summer season, Dalnavert Museum offers a sanctuary for
visitors to enjoy both. Dalnavert was built in 1895 for the Sir Hugh John Macdonald family in the affluent Broad- way/Assiniboine neighbourhood, where it housed the four Macdonald family members and two household staff. After the house was sold in 1929, it
was converted into a rooming house and remained as such until 1969, when it was threatened with demolition. The redevelopment of the property was staved off by the Manitoba Histori- cal Society, which raised money to purchase the property and restore it. An impressive four-year restoration project on the building, brought it back to its original 1895 splendour. Since 1974, Dalnavert has operated as a museum specialising in Victorian social history, the history of the Macdonald family, and the history of Winnipeg near the turn of the 20th century.
Staff and volunteers at Dalnavert
work year-round providing guided tours of the museum and special programs exploring different aspects of this National Historic Site’s past. Dalnavert’s interior depicts the deco- rative taste and lifestyle of an upper- middle class home in the late 1800’s. It is also important to depict the
home’s exterior as a vital part of Victo- rian domestic life. Dalnavert’s dedicated gardening committee works hard every growing season to see that the museum is framed in beautiful plant life to match the home’s lush interiors. Most of the plants selected for the garden are care- fully chosen to represent cultivars that were
actually available to gardeners
around 1895. Much research is conduct- ed to learn more about the availability of seeds in catalogues from that time and to look at aesthetic tastes of the period. The committee has developed an
heirloom peony garden that borders the entrance to the museum, in recognition
localgardener.net
All photos courtesy of Dalnavert Museum.
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