The garden is always beautiful and is captured here with a hand painted photograph.
The Reader house is completed in Crescent Heights.
In 1913 Mr. Reader was appointed the Park Superintendent of the City of Calgary and the family moved to the new Superintendent’s residence on a barren bank of the north slope of the Union Cemetery.
The house can be seen from the railway tracks just off 26th .
The hillside starts to come alive with young trees and shrubs in the 1920’s.
The children were put to work helping tend the garden.
Reader begins to transform the NW corner of Union Cemetery into a rock garden. One of the first installments of rocks photographed here.
We started on the back yard working the hill.
Reader Family pets are included in many photographs. Clearly they were part of the family.
Chickens provided eggs and meat during the winter.
---
Snow covered hillside made driving up the hill difficult.
The flowers are particularly attractive this year.
The garden continues to evolve, this is the backyard in the summer of 1920
We have flowers in winter. Snow and Frost Flowers LOL.
The spring is a perfect time for a party.
“How eagerly one watches for the first sign of growth in his favorite and most cherished plants, and with what anxiety he daily examines last year’s introductions to see if they have stood the test of this northern climate. “ WILLIAM ROLAND READER
A person can back into our backyard and follow the path through the flowers to a lovely view of the city.
Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII), visited his ranch in Alberta, calling in many towns and cities over a seven week period. “His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales planting trees under my direction at the E.P.Ranch. He does not look very pleased with his boss, but thats the fault of the camera.” William Reader
This is how the garden looked when we started.
After a lot of hard work we completed the path way.
The upper lawn adjacent to the house was ideal for family activities; a doubles tennis match is shown here.
Once the house was completed Reader began experimenting with gardening.