Sheridan Nurseries: One Hundred Years of People, Plans, and Plants

by Edward Butts, Karl Stensson

Overview

A charming tale of history, creativity, natural inspiration, and a love of gardening.

In 1913, Howard Dunington-Grubb and his wife, Lorrie, bought a small plot of land near Sheridan, Ontario, for the cultivation of ornamental plants. Local farmers thought they were crazy. But Howard and Lorrie, landscape architects recently arrived from England, were visionaries who dreamed of creating magnificent gardens in the colonial wasteland. Realizing that Canada had no nurseries that produced the plants they needed, they started one of their own. To manage it they hired Herman Stensson, an expert nurseryman whose references included one from the crown prince of Denmark.

The chronicles of the Dunington-Grubbs and the Stensson family form the basis for the incredible history of Sheridan Nurseries, enhanced by the diverse backgrounds and experiences of the many people who helped turn a dream into success. This Canadian saga reaches from the monuments of Toronto’s University Avenue and Niagara’s Oakes Garden Theatre to hundreds of parks and estates, and perhaps even your own backyard.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459705661
Publisher:	Dundurn Press
Publication date:	10/27/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

Edward Butts is the author of numerous books, including Murder, Line of Fire, Running with Dillinger, Simon Girty: Wilderness Warrior, and The Desperate Ones, which was nominated for the Arthur Ellis Award. He lives in Guelph, Ontario.

Karl Stensson is a third-generation Stensson. He is currently president of Sheridan Nurseries and has been involved in the business for 40 years. Karl is an honorary life member of Landscape Ontario and is one of only four to hold the President's Ring for the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association.

Edward Butts is the author of numerous books, including Murder, Line of Fire, Running With Dillinger, True Canadian Unsolved Mysteries, and The Desperate Ones, which was nominated for the Arthur Ellis Award. He lives in Guelph, Ontario.

Table of Contents

Sheridan Nurseries: Provisional Table of Contents
Introduction
Howard and Lorrie
The Projects
The Stensson Family
The People
The Nursery
The Catalogues
The Plants
Nursery Tales
Sheridan Nursery Today
Bibliography
Index
 

Editorial Reviews

This is handsome company history that also describes the development of landscape architecture in Ontario.”

Waterloo Region Record

Although meant to be a tribute to a long enduring business, the story of the people who worked at Sheridan is especially fascinating. People of different backgrounds and interests were deeply motivated to bring the latest and best plants to an appreciative public.”

Chicagobotanicalgarden.org

“Although meant to be a tribute to a long enduring business, the story of the people who worked at Sheridan is especially fascinating. People of different backgrounds and interests were deeply motivated to bring the latest and best plants to an appreciative public.”

“This is handsome company history that also describes the development of landscape architecture in Ontario.”

From the Publisher