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Yesterday I worked in the gardens at work. Not part of my day to day work, or job description @ElliceHouse, but it’s spring, things are growing, and we can’t have volunteers on site. /1
But - even if it wasn’t a pandemic, I still volunteer in the gardens from time to time. Not just because we’re a small, underfunded non profit responsible for a historic landscape, but because I get to learn more about the history of the site. /2
Yesterday I found remnants of the shoreline’s industrial use; spotted a small patch of native fawn lilies - things that otherwise might go unnoticed. The site landscape/gardens are not just roses & lilacs, there’s a lot we can still learn about site history & Victoria’s past /3
These are exciting finds (to me) because there’s still so much to learn in this small 2 acre plot in the middle of city’s industrial area. I’m not sure it’s been appreciated the extent to which @ElliceHouse is a historic landscape - I’d argue second only to Beacon Hill Park /4
As a heritage site, I think past focus on tea/romance has been a disservice. The site is much richer, much more important than what past visitor programming has portrayed. And that has led to a woefully inadequate appreciation for importance of the site from many perspectives /5
We have been working hard to connect the to connect the house, landscape, artifacts, and historical figures to the wider history of #VictoriaBC and the neighborhood. This is going to take time. Of course, the pandemic has thrown a wrench into our efforts /6
Still, we continue to work and we will launch our restored south garden and a new exhibit that makes these connections (whenever safe to do so). I hope the community will be able to see what staff/volunteers/board see: @ElliceHouse is a historic landscape worth protecting /end
