Saving Glass Gardens: the Parkwood NHS Greenhouses

 

Saving Glass Gardens

The greenhouses of Parkwood National Historic Site

 

Pre Conservation work

 

Glass Garden was a common terms for early 20th century greenhouse. For Canadian auto-baron Sam McLaughlin and his wife Adelaide, their glass gardens were enormously practical and highly decorative, providing plants for year round display as well as for the elaborate gardens. 

The Parkwood greenhouses also supported the
family's social pursuits, providing horticultural novelty & entertainment for guests, and the ability to compete and flower shows against others of green thumb and deep pockets.

Garden clubs and societies, from across Ontario and beyond, were frequently
entertained at Parkwood. Invitations to the McLaughlin’s annual Chrysanthemum Tea were coveted for over five decades, when guests came to wander the greenhouses and marvel at the 250 unusual varieties displayed, especially the large single- stemmed plants trained to have just one spectacular bloom.

Today, an engraved invitation is no longer required. Parkwood’s greenhouses are open to the public all year, for education& enjoyment. Now approaching 100 years of age, they still perform many of their historic functions for display and plant production for the gardens.


In  2012 Parkwood began a partnership with Durham College  in  a  Horticulture Technician Program that uses the historic gardens and greenhouses for teaching and lab purposes – extending their education value even further.

 

Why Save?

Parkwood's glass gardens speak to the vanished lifestyle of the early 20th century. They illustrate construction techniques and greenhouse operations of the era, and help visitors imagine the lavish lifestyle of the McLaughlins, and the roles played by their large garden staff (24+) in keeping up appearances. 

 

Why Now?

The greenhouse complex is at serious risk of loss to

the historic building fabric, and of public access and student use due to deteriorated unsafe conditions.

 

Who will benefit?

The greenhouses or glass gardens provide opportunities for education and enjoyment to area residents and visitors from across Canada and around the world, and even more specialised opportunities for horticultural enthusiasts and students.Many volunteers take part in both plant production  and  display  activities  including seniors and apartment dwellers without gardens of  their  own.   

Parkwood’s greenhouses offer  a chance to socialize and keep limbs and green thumbs active.

 

What’s Involved?

Each greenhouse or glass garden has different

requirements, due to its evolution and current condition.

Parkwood has engaged top heritage specialists in historic assessment and future planning.

Together we have determined a course of repair which respects historic values and ensures that each greenhouse can be sustained for 100 years more.

 

Work in progress

Conservation Completed

A pilot project was begun in late 2013, to test the “prescription” and launch a repair sequence for the remaining 5 greenhouses.   The pilot project involved  a  restoration  of  the  c.  1917  Vinery, which still houses one historic grapevine.   The project is complete and the results are stunning, encouraging the public to picture the other glass gardens fully conserved/restored. Community partners rallied to raise $ 200,000 to do this pilot work, but more dollars are urgently required.

One highly visual element of the complete project will be replacement of the decades-old plastic panels now yellowed and opaque, and a return to clear glass .
 

The next glass garden to undertake is the large and wonderful Palm House, home to many tropical plants including a large rubber tree planted by McLaughlin and his Head Gardener, and where Flora a marble sculpture of a woman takes centre stage.

 

The Palm House connects directly with the recreation  wing  of  the  mansion for seamless public access year-round. Its restoration program is pegged at just over $ 400,000.

Join the Palm House Rescue Party

Be a pane!  
Help fill in wall and roof sections with new glass, with a $ 75 gift.
724 panes required

Be  a  crank!     

Turn the handle on restoring the original ventilation system, with a $ 4,000 gift.

Give  a  shot  to  the  ribs!    
Help repair or replace original yellow cedar glazing ribs with $ 150 gift.
1410 ribs required



Did you know?

A gift of any amount is appreciated, and its impact immediately increases by 50% with the fund-matching challenge! In  2013,   The    City    of    Oshawa  pledged fund-matching support to assist in a full conservation/restoration program for the greenhouse complex, and will provide $ .50 for every $ 1 raised.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parkwood & Philanthropy, Then and Now

When reviewing the giving legacy of the McLaughlin Family and their impact on philanthropy in Canadian history one is always in awe of their achievement, a generous achievement, which to date, has not been matched by any other Canadian in terms of donorship. 
 
One of the areas that the family was keen to support was that of child welfare and health issues. In fact many of the programs which have long been equated with the McLaughlin Family are programs that support or endorse the key elements of the well being of children: including the scouting and guiding movements; the Home & School Movement; the Boys and Girls Clubs; and the Intensive Care Unit of Sick Children's Hospital.

When one reflects on the causes supported, we can see both the influences of former school teacher, Adelaide McLaughlin, in terms of her support and interests, but also many of the foundations of small "l" liberalism in terms of community support and philanthropy which would have been part of their social circles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The idea of  Parkwood and philanthropy continues to this day, but in most cases it is the Estate that is benefitting the philanthropic donations as opposed to dispersing them, as it once did pre-1972.  What many people forget in this post- Sam McLaughlin world is that Parkwood is a charity, yes, a charity. With a property as big & beautiful and historically important as Parkwood it should be no surprise that help is always needed—volunteers, sponsors, partners, heritage enthusiasts and, of course, donors. 

As a charity, we are always looking for opportunities to generate the dollars needed to preserve and present the Estate, best reflecting the stories and stewardship of the family.Canada Helps.org offers perhaps the best website support to Canadian charities and is the most prominent, frequently- used portal for making secure donations on-line. Canada Helps handles any type of gift and tax receipting too, making it invaluable to small & medium organizations. The website was recently redesigned, and it now allows Parkwood to be presented more succinctly, even more visually. We have been able to add photographs, and links to historic McLaughlin home movies, to help showcase our special place in history and the comparative rarity of our historic resources—and ultimately present a compelling case for donor support.



Joint Fundraising Poster

Other opportunities present themselves for raising dollars, also. Modern philanthropic types have hosted events of their own donating their proceeds to a Parkwood project or joint fundraising opportunities emerge, like the one with Their Opportunity, whose mandate parallels much of the philanthropic spirit of Sam and Adelaide McLaughlin.

Their Opportunity makes it possible for children to participate in sports by removing financial barriers. In return, children are asked to pay the opportunity forward through volunteer service. We think this work resonates handsomely with Parkwood’s heritage preservation mission, which ensures public access to historic resources, education and enjoyment opportunities.
The wine & scotch tasting event marks the first collaborative fundraiser for both organizations. It will raise funds to support both charitable organizations and their public-benefit missions in our community, with some sampling of the fine Parkwood heritage resources, and the amazing stories these resources tell.