The Heritage Gardens at O’Hara Mill Pioneer Homestead and Conservation Area were developed by the O’Hara Volunteers Association in 2007 and expanded in 2008. They are the “living museum” complement to the preserved buildings and historic artifacts on site.
These are demonstration gardens, as opposed to restorations of any specific gardens that may once have existed on the O’Hara family property. They represent this area’s “plant heritage” in home gardening and agriculture.
The plantings are old varieties of flowers, shrubs, trees, vegetables, herbs, vines, and grains - those garden "heirlooms" grown on the typical homestead in central Hastings County from the mid-1800s through the early 1900s.
The O’Hara Mill Heritage Gardens include:
- A Parlour Garden of old-fashioned flowers and shrubs enclosed by a picket fence in front of the house,
- An Herb Garden enclosed by a low stone wall & split- rail fence west of the house,
- A Kitchen Garden of heirloom vegetables north of the house,
- A demonstration Field Crop Garden, on the upper terrace north of the Kitchen Garden
- A Children’s Schoolhouse Garden, on both sides of the doorway to the one-room log Schoolhouse, and,
- A Fruit Garden on the hill above the Field-Crop & Kitchen Gardens.
- Composting.
If you would like to volunteer to help out with The Heritage Gardens, check here for opportunities.
Parlour Garden
Garden beds along the front of the house and along the picket fence enclosing the lawn create an outdoor “parlour” of hardy old favourites that feed the soul.
Parlour Garden
Herb Garden
The Herb Garden, surrounded by a dry-stone retaining wall and low split-rail fence, was installed along the west side of the O’Hara house in 2007. Its five beds contain a wide selection of plants traditionally grown for medicinal, culinary, aromatic, dyeing, pest-repellent, and decorative purposes
Herb Garden
Kitchen Garden
The Kitchen Garden north of the house was expanded in 2008 and now has eight beds – four new ones west of the cedar arbour and the original four beds east of it. Each contains rows of heirloom varieties of root vegetables, leafy vegetables, fresh table vegetables, fruits and/or cutting flowers. Produce harvested throughout the summer is donated to the local food bank.
The Kitchen Garden Established in 2007
Field-Crop Garden
Broad rows in this garden represent basic crops that were grown in fields to provide flour, meal, cereal, soup, etc. Examples of these crops are beans, corn, smoking tobacco, pumpkins, sunflowers, barley and broom corn.
Broom Corn
Children’s Schoolhouse Garden
This garden was established in 2008 to reflect what school children typically planted with their teacher around a one-room schoolhouse. It is located on either side of the Schoolhouse doorway Several perennials north of the doorway have been transplanted from the site of the original O’Hara School (now demolished), which is located a few miles away. On the south side is a “Three Sisters” garden – a traditional companion planting of corn, climbing beans, and pumpkin (taught by Native Americans to early settlers from Europe).
Fruit Garden
The Fruit Garden is located on the slope north of the Kitchen Garden. In 2008, three new heirloom apple trees, Wolf River, Yellow Transparent, and Wealthy, were planted on either side of the existing two larger trees, one of which is Russet. Wild raspberries, grapes and rhubarb grow along the fence line. Several current bushes were planted in 2009.
Composting
Composting is an integral part of the Heritage Gardens to manage waste materials and provide soil amendment. Nothing is wasted.
