1993 Dominion Seed House Sold
In 1993 Margaret Harding sold the Dominion Seed House (DSH) business to Perron, a Quebec firm that continued the DSH business at a new location. In a nod to tradition, the postal address remained in Georgetown. Many people in the surrounding area were saddened by the departure of a piece of local history. The landmark mock-Tudor building remained on the Harding property and was leased to a nursery operator.

1995 Plant Rescue Begins
In 1995 members of the Georgetown chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) were given permission to rescue the acres of peonies, iris and daylilies that lay abandoned in the fields. The vision was to sell the plants and use the funds to create a public garden as a reminder of the history of the DSH in Georgetown.

Identification of the Plants
Duncan McFarlane, DSH farm manager for 20 years until his retirement in 1990, volunteered to walk the overgrown fields to look at the rows of plants and identify them by variety.

Heritage Peonies
The following varieties of peonies were found:
Heritage varieties imported from France by William Bradley circa 1930:

Other varieties found:

Dig-Your-Own Plant Sale
On May 4th and 5th 1996 a Dig-Your-Own Plant Sale was held by the local CFUW with help from the Georgetown Horticultural Society. Gardeners from all over southern Ontario converged on the site to rescue the plants before the bulldozers moved in. Peonies were $4 a clump, iris $2 and daylilies $1. An astonishing $40,000 was raised for the new garden!

1997 Property Sold and Master Plan Developed
In 1997 the Harding property was sold for development and a public process began to create a master plan for the 54 acre site. During this process, members of CFUW Georgetown lobbied successfully to have a public garden included in the designated 8 acre park block.

1998 Garden Steering Committee Formed
A group of interested individuals formed a committee to move the garden project forward in partnership with the Town of Halton Hills. In workshops with a landscape consultant a vision for the garden began to take shape. The public was invited to comment on various options prior to the development of a preferred plan.

1999 The Landmark DSH Building is Demolished
In spite of public pressure to preserve the landmark mock-Tudor building, it was demolished in October 1999. Fortunately, the Steering Committee successfully lobbied to have the historic fieldstone foundation at the west end of the building preserved. This foundation was originally under a barn and was later included in the building as a result of expansion. It became a key element in the final garden design.

2000 The Friends of the Old Seed House Garden Created
In January 2000 a new volunteer organization called the Friends of the Old Seed House Garden was officially launched with a community open house. The event was well attended and by the end of the evening there were 56 charter members of the Friends. Working committees were formed for design and development, fundraising, grant applications, membership, publicity, newsletter, website development and history.

Garden Design
The Friends' Design and Development Committee began meeting with Town Parks staff in February 2000 and met bi-weekly for the next three years to finalize the design concept, complete the detailed engineering drawings and supervise the development of Phase 1.

2001 Lease of the Garden Area
In June 2001 a 10 year renewable lease for the garden was signed by the Friends and the Town of Halton Hills for $1 per year.

Fundraising
By the end of Phase 1, the Friends' Fundraising Committee had raised an impressive $280,000 in cash and in-kind donations, including the original seed money raised by CFUW Georgetown. A successful tree donation program made it possible to plant 65 trees throughout the garden.

2002 - THE OLD SEED HOUSE GARDEN TAKES SHAPE

Through the summer of 2002 the fundraising team worked hard at lining up cash and in-kind donations while plans were finalized and permits processed. It wasn't until September that real visible progress occurred at the site. During September, the footings were poured for the bridge, shed, benches and the light standards and the underground electrical conduit installed.

In October there was an incredible explosion of activities, all of it based on donations from the community. The kiosk arrived from the high school and the GDHS students installed the shingles. The bridge took shape and three benches were installed. On October 9th a local landscaping company arrived and began fine grading. Suddenly, although we were concentrating on Phase 1, they volunteered to build Phase 2,which was the dry stone riverbed. By later that day, half of the riverbed was constructed. October 11th was a momentous day as the first vegetation was planted. Four beautiful maple trees and many burning bushes added a new splash of autumn colour to the burgeoning garden.

Three days in October were amazing!

On Thursday October 24th, the landscaping company arrived en mass with heavy equipment and a crew of 11. The riverbed was extended and a lookout, first dreamed of that morning, was built later that same day, including enormous quarry stone seating and shrubs! Forty trees were delivered and promptly planted. At 4pm a sod truck arrived and by 6pm the site was littered with sod skids and a significant area already transformed from dusty brown to luscious green.

On Friday October 25th volunteers picked up all of the shrubs and perennials from Sheridan Nurseries and Van Wissen Perennials and organized them into planting areas. Sod was rolled out on phases 1 and 2. and the dry stone riverbed was completed. The pathways were extended into Phase 3 with all materials and labour donated by the landscaping company.

The keenly anticipated Planting Day finally arrived on Saturday October 26th. Early in the morning volunteers brought the shrubs and perennials to the garden and moved them into their assigned planting areas. At noon the rest of the volunteers arrived and dug into the task at hand. At the same time all of the lighting bollards were installed. Two hours later, the garden was fully planted and looking gorgeous!

Thanks to the tremendous support of businesses and individuals, the Old Seed House Garden is well on it's way to becoming a fabulous new attraction for residents and visitors alike. Planning and fundraising are now underway to enable further developments in 2003.

2003 Official Opening
The Old Seed House Garden will open officially in June 2003.

2003 The Final Phase
Final Phase fundraising began in January 2003 and construction continues throughout the year.

See also Our Heritage