Life & Style | Home & Interiors
The Reford Saga
They say 'a picture is worth a thousand words'. Well, Elsie Reford's gardens certainly are, and the fascinating history behind them adds a few twists to the plot.
- Mona Alami, Features Writer
- Published: 12:13 December 1, 2008
- The story of the garden is intertwined with the life of the talented Elsie Reford and the saga of two powerful families.
- Image Credit: Supplied
Luscious shrubs bearing bundles of pink flowers punctuate the many alleyways of the Jardins de Metis, while ethereal looking trees adorned with transparent buds glisten in the afternoon sun. Little needs to be said about the mesmerising landscape, as its beauty really speaks for itself in a language that is eternally fragrant and breathtaking.
The story of the garden is intertwined with the life of the talented Elsie Reford and the saga of two powerful families. Elsie, born in Ontario in 1872, was also known as Elsie Stephen-Meighen.
She was the daughter of Robert Meighen and Elsie Stephen, and the beloved niece of Lord George Stephen, one of Canada's most successful businessmen at the time. Her uncle was the president of the Bank of Montreal in the late 19th century and the founding president of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Made a baron in 1886 for his many great accomplishments, he was also granted a peerage by England's Queen Victoria in 1891, thereafter becoming known as Lord Mount Stephen.
Lord Mount Stephen's gardens lie in Grand Métis , Quebec, on the confluent of the Metis River and the Saint Lawrence River, 350 kilometers east of Quebec City.
It was here on Drummond Street, in the francophone city of Montreal, that Elsie Reford discovered the world of botany.
After completing her studies in Dresden and Paris, where she mastered both French and German, the young woman married Robert Wilson Reford in 1894.
The eldest son of Robert Reford and Katherine Drummond, he also came from a famous Canadian family. His father was the founder of the Robert Reford Company, a shipping business established in Montreal in 1866.
In 1918 Lord Mount Stephen offered Elsie Estevan Lodge a property he owned at Grand Metis, by the Metis River. Elsie had often visited the house and had many fond memories of the estate, as it was there that she learned to fish, ride, hunt and canoe.
She also enjoyed fishing for salmon at the river every summer. After she was given the Grand Metis house, she added to it by acquiring the adjacent farms and various surrounding properties.
In 1926 she extended Estevan Lodge, adding a second storey as well as quarters for domestic staff and several other buildings.
While Elsie gardened – and religiously kept a garden diary, penning the daily development of her plants – her husband Robert enjoyed photography and painting.
Acquiring one of the first Kodak cameras in 1888, he became one of Canada's most talented amateur photographers and left a large collection of images after his death.
He also relied on his great talent to immortalize his wife's gardens. He took pictures of friends and families at his two residences, Estevan Lodge and his house in Montreal, as well as the surrounding landscapes around the properties.
Elsie's passion for her garden at Grand Metis lasted for over 30 years, during which time she set her botanical creativity free, designing the nitty-gritty details in the gardens and expanding the grounds substantially every year. She spent her last summer at Grand Metis in 1959, some eight years before her death.
Today, the gardens are famous for their beauty and botanical varieties. They are especially known in Canada for propagating the Himalayan blue poppy (Meconopsis betonicifolia).
The lovely parterres have survived thanks to their acquisition by the non-profit organization, Les Amis des Jardins de Métis. The government of Québec had previously managed the gardens since acquiring them from Brigadier Bruce Reford in 1961.
In 1994 it was announced that the gardens would close, but Les Ateliers Plein Soleil, joined forces with several members of the Reford family and rallied the local community together to preserve the gardens.
“The primary objective of the organisation is to maintain the gardens and buildings, to preserve their unique character, and to cover educational and cultural aspects,'' reads a statement from Les Jardins de Metis.
Since 1995, the organisation has transformed Les Jardins de Métis into one of the premier gardens in North America by relying on garden vacations, lectures and workshops.
In 2000, the gardens organised the first edition of the International Garden Festival, a major initiative to advance the art of the garden and to position the gardens as a tourist destination. Les Amis des Jardins de Métis have also received several awards.
In the gardens of Elsie Reford, time seems to stand still – amid the fragrant flowers and colorful parterres, one is taken back to the early twentieth century.
It is a haven for dreamers, who can enjoy a brief respite from the bustle of the modern world to enjoy a place where nature and beauty reign.
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