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VICTORIA’S
“GARDEN OF LOVE” It’s heartwarming to read
that a garden built by a Russian prince and his bride has been saved from a
developer’s bulldozer. The
Abkhazi Garden, a 1.4-acre site that overlooks the Strait of Juan de Fuca and
the Olympic Mountains, is internationally famous for its splendid collection of
rhododendrons.
My interest in this story
was triggered by an article that appeared in the Globe and Mail on January 10,
2000. Historically, the love affair between Prince Nicholas Abkhazi
and Princess Peggy Abkhazi spanned over seven decades, three continents, and the
Second World War. When they
purchased this property in 1946, this long, thin strip of land was about to be
subdivided. It was an overgrown,
weed-infested lot! For over 40
years, the Georgian prince from Russia and his Shanghai born princess created a
magnificent landscape that she would later call the “garden that love
built”. The couple was childless
and the garden subsequently became their pride and joy. Prince Nicholas died in 1987 and Princess Peggy died in 1994.
Their ashes were scattered over the garden.
Care of the garden was
entrusted to the estate’s two major benefactors- the couple’s long-time
gardener, Chris Ball, and their housemaid of 15 years, Maria Camosa.
The sale of the property to the gardener was a long-standing source of
dispute between these two people. When
the gardener was unable to afford the $30,000 annual upkeep, he sold the
property to a developer for the purpose of building townhouses.
Maria Camosa indicated that “Princess Abhkazi never would have wanted
her beloved garden to be destroyed. She
always said she wanted it to continue. They
wanted something left behind that would last”.
News of the impending demolition of “the garden that love built”
captivated the hearts of horticulturists across the continent.
The Land Conservancy of British Columbia, in an 11th hour
agreement, signed a contract to buy back the property from the developer for
$1.4 million. Donations from
Canada, the United States, and England have come in, from as little as $10 to as
much as $100,000. In addition to
this, over $600,000 was raised by 12 donors who agreed to take out mortgages on
the property. Commendably, Ester Edwards, an 82-year-old pensioner, avid gardener, and retired Eaton’s store clerk, donated $1000 when told that the garden would be saved. As of the end of January, the group still needed $175,000 to repurchase the garden and another $250,000 to set up an endowment fund for the gardens ongoing maintenance. The property was formally transferred to the Land Conservancy of B.C. on February 17.
When news of the gardeners reprieve reached the ears of Maria Camosa, the couple’s long-time maid, she said that Princess Peggy Abkhazi “believed in the ever-after… I think she’s around us… she is in the garden and she’s very happy”. This garden was prominently
featured in the book In a Canadian Garden in 1989.
Photographed by Freeman Patterson and written by Nicole Eaton and Hilary
Weston, it vividly “shows and tells” the beauty of this garden and how it
evolved. Princess Abkhazi
envisioned her garden like the Yangtze River in China.
The garden, like this river, gently and peacefully flows from one
“room” to another. Each room is
a new surprise… a new adventure.
Take this book off your coffee table or make arrangements to see the Princess Nicholas Abkhazi Garden in person. It truly is one of the most beautiful gardens in Canada… Victoria’s Garden of Love. All photos are copyright property of Freeman Patterson. *All pictures were copied from other websites. Books: Eaton, Nicole and Hilary
Weston. Photography by Freeman Patterson. In a Canadian Garden.
Viking Studio Books, 1989. Newspaper Articles: The Globe and Mail.
“Garden of Russian Prince in Danger from Developers”.
2000.01.10
John A. Morley Editor Hort-Pro Magazine
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