Garden of Dreams: Kingsmere and Mackenzie King

Pleasance Crawford, a Canadian landscape and garden history researcher
and writer, is the editor of Landscape Architectural Review.

In Garden of Dreams, garden historian Edwinna von Baeyer reveals another
aspect of our tenth prime minister’s much-scrutinized private life:
the fascination with landscaping that he indulged for half a century at
Kingsmere, his refuge in the Gatineau Hills near Ottawa.

King’s interests in nature, horticulture, landscape ornamentation,
architectural ruins, and the City Beautiful are amply documented in
government documents, historic photographs, and his personal diaries.
Von Baeyer’s carefully researched yet highly readable book synthesizes
this material and places it in the broader context of Canadian landscape
and garden history.

Although King’s close personal friends were the only frequent guests
at Kingsmere, several generations of visitors have enjoyed his rural
retreat since 1950, when he bequeathed the property to Canada. The
National Capital Commission is now responsible for the preservation of
this historic site, some of the gardens of which have recently been
restored to the King period.