The Horticultural Society was very active and well attended in the 1950s and 1960s. Many new houses were built during this time. The gardens of newly built houses are generally quite plane. Many families were interested in designing and landscaping their gardens.
Lakeshore News and Views, Aug. 30, 1962, Horticultural Show, source: Gillian Bennett
What the newspaper calls "MR and MRS H. F. DIXON" are in reality Gordon Bennett and Agnes Dixon. All of the people in the picture were neighbors and lived on Oxford Road. From left to right: Gordon John Bennett (43 Oxford Rd), Agnes Dixon (41 Oxford Rd), Sue Anne Albulet (42 Oxford Rd), Marilyn Dixon (41 Oxford Rd, note: it's not sure that the girl on the right is really Marilyn).
The Horticultural Society lost popularity in the late 1960's and 1970's. The group then in charge decided to put and end to the societies activities. The society still had money in the bank in 1971 and the group wished to find a way to dispose of the money for the good of the community. They came up with the idea of purchasing almond bushes and crab-apple trees and made them available to Baie-D'Urfé homeowners. Almost 200 crab-apple trees and double the amount of almond bushes were handed out on Earthday 1971.
A few houses do still have some large crab-apple trees in their front yard and I often wonder if
those are trees from the Horticultural Society.
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