SURVIVING AND THRIVING: LIVING PLANT COLLECTIONS

Collections Corner | Jaime Meier 

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As a plant parent, there is an undeniable joy that comes from taking care of a living creature and watching it flourish in return. Needing only a small investment of time, soil, and water to keep it alive, plants are one of the most cost efficient living things. The accessibility of owning plants and the mood enhancing experience that accompanies them has caused the plant economy in Canada to increase 8% to 1.5 billion dollars from 2013 to 2018.

The arid room hosts a plethora of unique succulents and cacti.
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Not everyone is capable of keeping plants alive but there are other possibilities for plant appreciation. Instead of consistently reverting to static and inanimate objects, there are important living collections in most Canadian cities – plant conservatories. Toronto is fortunate enough to have one with free admission in the heart of the city, the Allen Gardens Conservatory. Similar to an art gallery that displays different eras of art, the Allen Gardens Conservatory features six green houses that include palms, cacti and succulents, tropical plants, and many more.

I have happily spent many afternoons in plant conservatories across North America and whether you are a plant lover or not, it is impossible to not be struck by their beauty, which is an immersive experience. Each room offers a new adventures, teleporting you from desserts covered in succulents and cacti to tropical forests complete with waterfalls and lush greenery. Curtis Evoy, the supervisor at the Allen Gardens Conservatory, says that “Live plants can tickle all of our senses – sight, touch, smell, hearing, and taste. Whereas an inanimate object may just satisfy one or two  of the senses.”

The tropical room in full bloom.
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Beyond the beauty, plant conservatories, especially the Allen Gardens, serve as an important place for discussions about Indigenous connections to the land. Every institution has a land acknowledge that recognizes the presence of Indigenous groups and their unique connection to the land long before settlers. This good natured gesture rarely goes beyond an acknowledgement, even though it is meant to play an important role in decolonization and putting Indigenization into action. Allen Gardens is one of the few places putting land back into the hands of Indigenous peoples through gardening and art.

Plants have always played an important role in Indigenous cultures. There is a permanent Indigenous Medicinal Garden outside the conservatory growing traditional plants with the local Indigenous community. It includes staples such as sage, sweetgrass, and tobacco. Making space for traditional Indigenous plants and allowing the community to utilize them re-affirms the history of the land and its stewards through action rather than words.

The banners in front of the conservatory.
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The gardens also demonstrated their commitment to Indigenous peoples and their resilience through an installation called “Red Embers.” It was created by 15 Indigenous women artists to publicly speak out against the systematic violence and discrimination that has caused the national tragedy of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). The red banners were utilized by the artists to display their personal experience of how MMIWG has affected them and the charred cedar holding the banners demonstrates the “strength and resilience of women, even when they’ve been scorched and hurt.” Curtis Evoy commented that “Art and gardens have gone hand in hand for centuries, from fountains to sculptures.” The “Red Embers” installation replaces, and effectively destroys, the gaze of European sculpture and art forms associated with gardens. It then becomes impossible to ignore the historic and current presence of Indigenous peoples and forces us to consider how, in spite of colonial legacies, Indigenous peoples will always retain an unbreakable connection to their lands and cultures.

The Allen Gardens Conservatory is the perfect place to spend a sunny or dreary Toronto day. It has something for plant admirers and adversaries. I look forward to seeing how the conservatory continues to work with Indigenous peoples and that other institutions follow their lead.