Heritage Garden
The founder of the Women's Institutes was recognized in the Canadian Heritage Garden at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. It was one of 293 roses included in the Garden, which was opened late in 1999 on the grounds of the Governor General's estate.
This project has been in the planning stages since 1992 when Ramon and Gerda Hnatyshyn promised Canada a rose garden in celebration if the 125th anniversary of Confederation. At that time Mr. Hnatyshyn was Governor General of Canada.
Mrs. Hnatyshyn formed the Canadian Heritage Garden Foundation, which raised the $1.3 million needed. A. D. Regeher, a landscape artist from Toronto, won the competition to design the garden. Horticulturist Claire Laberge of the Montreal Botanical Gardens had the job of finding bred-in-Canada roses that were hardy enough to withstand Ottawa's cold winters.
The roses would be presented in two areas with a granite pool at the centre. The first area is the 11 “Garden Rooms” where specific varieties represent the ancestry of people who have come to and settled in Canada. These are known as the Ancestry Roses. The second area is along the “Timeless Promenade” which is the main garden walkway. Text on an overhead granite beam recognizes events in the development of Canada's governance. Under this beam, at the edge of the Promenade are roses representing significant events and people that were instrumental in the development of Canada. The Adelaide Hoodless Rose will be found here at the 7th Timeline Rose Marker and will be noted as no. 60.1.
This shrub rose was introduced in 1972 as a tribute to Adelaide Hoodless on the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Women's Institutes. Plants produce large clusters of semi-double red blooms and grow to about one meter, with arching stems. They survive in zone 2 and warmer zones and propagate easily from softwood stem cuttings.
The rose is available at some local nurseries and from Morden Nurseries Ltd., Box 1270, Morden, Manitoba, ROG 1J0, telephone (204) 822-3311. We understand this is one of their most popular roses.
Happy gardening!
Ruth Fenner, Provincial Historian, British Columbia Women's Institute
