Elsie and Robert Wilson Reford on the Long Walk, 1938, Photographer unknown
© Reford Gardens, Les Amis des Jardins de Métis Collection, NAC 1997.10.31.1
Between 1926 and the early 1960s, Elsie Reford turned the land around the fishing camp into a garden unique in North America. At first, everything seemed to work against her: the poor soil, the harsh climate and the exposure to the wind. She learned how to get the most out of the site’s topography, however, studying the varieties suited to the region and the ways to grow and multiply them. All this was done with the help of gardeners she trained herself. Elsie defied the convention of the times, which dictated that wealthy landowners hire highly reputed landscape architects for such tasks.
We see her here in the Long Walk of the gardens, accompanied by her husband and their dog. The “Long Walk” is probably an allusion to a famous alley that leads to the Windsor Castle (United Kingdom). This was significant since Elsie came from a long line of conservatives loyal to Britain: the Meighens (her father’s family), the Stephens (her maternal uncle’s family) and the Refords. Moreover, several governors general—the representatives of the British crown in Canada—also visited Estevan Lodge over the years.