麻豆传媒

Many readers are familiar with Percy Wright’s two most popular plant introductions, the ‘Hazeldean’ rose, and ‘Thunderchild’ flowering crabapple. But what about the man himself? What were his views on the world, his life and thoughts outside of horticulture?

Fortunately, he was a prolific writer, mentoring a whole generation of gardeners through weekly columns and keeping a detailed diary.

Born on July 2, 1898, in Lachine, Quebec, Percy Wright was the son of the Reverend Henry Enoch Wright, an Anglican rector, and Dorina Lavinia Evans. The family left Quebec in 1907 to homestead near Tramping Lake, Saskatchewan:

"It was merely another nameless spot in the interminable plain, and there did not seem to be any more reason for stopping there than there had been at any other place. It seemed awfully high, bare, and exposed, and the idea of living there seemed like living on a table, a high plateau exposed to all the winds that blew.”

He did not attend school until the age of fourteen. "I developed a capacity to learn without being taught, from books and conversations alone… Why was I not sent to school? …I suspect that…my health was not good enough to permit it. On the other hand, I do not recall any schoolhouse in the neighbourhood, or even seeing anyone known as - the teacher."

"I spent hundreds of hours on the sofa reading…I feel sure that if the little boy that was I were suddenly dropped into a modern school, with child psychologists and guidance specialists…my report cards would have read: solitary, unsocial, poorly adjusted."

Yet he went on to the University of Saskatchewan, beginning in the College of Agriculture but soon switching to Arts. He won the Gold medal, graduating with Great Distinction. He went on to get a Master’s Degree in Literature and completed all but the final oral examination for his PhD in English from the University of Toronto. He had no formal training in horticulture.

By 1914, his father had enrolled him in the correspondence course of the Columbia Conservatory of Music in Saskatoon. He took to music “like a duck to water.”

"I spent hours playing the piano and advanced rapidly [and soon] knew enough to offer piano lessons…getting 50 cents per hour lesson…I saved my money and used it to buy my own clothes and had a small but satisfying bank account."

"An enterprising garage keeper from Landis put on picture shows… in a rented hall at the west end of Main Street. I was hired to play the necessary music. As there was no sound, but only titles and conversations on the screen, the music could be played at any time. In spite of the need to concentrate on the music, I managed to follow the plot of many a movie."

Wright attended the Normal School in Saskatoon, obtaining his Teachers Certificate in 1921. His teaching experiences were varied, some providing satisfaction and others not. He was deeply empathetic to the children, but not always attuned to the politics of the school district. Teachers were expected to board with local families on a rotating basis. He describes one situation.

"The Harrises had a large house, so large that they did not attempt to heat it at all. I slept in a room so cold that water froze in it every night, and I had so many heavy blankets on me that I could scarcely turn over in bed.”

Summers were spent on the family farm near Wilkie, where he grew vegetables on his father's farm.

'I grew vegetables for sale and sometimes my garden was more profitable to me than my father's farm was to him."

[To be continued…]

Sara Williams is the author and co-author of many books including 'Creating the Prairie Xeriscape', 'Gardening Naturally' with Hugh Skinner and, with Bob Bors, 'Growing Fruit in Northern Gardens.'

This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; [email protected]). Check our website () or Facebook page () for a list of upcoming gardening events.