1999 Fredericton Convocation
Flemer, Lucinda
Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.)
Orator: Patterson, Stephen E.
Citation:
CONVOCATION, OCTOBER, 1999
LUCINDA M. FLEMER
to be Doctor of Letters
Most of us dream dreams that never come true. Lucinda Flemer, on the other hand, has made her dream a reality. Deeply attached to St. Andrews, New Brunswick, and eager to make a lasting contribution both to the place and the people, she imagined the possibility of public gardens, perhaps reminiscent of some of the great public gardens of the world, but at the same time distinctive to St. Andrews and New Brunswick. Kingsbrae Horticultural Gardens is her brainchild, and in a remarkable three short years, she made it happen.
Mrs. Flemer was born in Montreal and she was educated at King's Hall, in Compton, Quebec, and at the Sorbonne in Paris. She studied languages and became proficient in French, Dutch, and Italian. At the same time, perhaps influenced by her grandmother and her parents, she developed an interest in the arts and, by extension, a deep appreciation for Canada's heritage in buildings, open spaces, and art objects. Luckily for New Brunswick, she also became deeply attached to this province through her frequent visits here; while she lives in Toronto, she passionately loves St. Andrews, where she became involved in community affairs and still actively serves as a director of the Passamaquoddy Lodge. Long before she created Kingsbrae, she became a patron of the arts and a member of the Board of Governors of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery. In 1993, the Government of Canada recognized her contribution as an arts benefactor by granting her the Lescarbot Award. It was out of this background that she first envisioned Kingsbrae Gardens which she planned as a gift to the people of New Brunswick. The provincial government on behalf of us all accepted her generous offer. Today, Kingsbrae is already, even in its infancy, a thing of beauty and a joy to the thousands of visitors who have passed through its gates. It has become a major tourist destination, an employer of 25-30 men and women from the area, a significant contributor to the local economy, and an object of enormous pride in the community.
But a surface description misses the mark; Kingsbrae is art, it is brimming with creative imagination, it is poetry. Much of the creative impulse is Mrs. Flemer's. She worked closely with professional landscape designers to exploit the natural features of the site, such as the magnificent vistas it affords of Passamaquoddy Bay, and to appeal to the enormous variety of tastes one finds in society. Above all, she wanted this to be a public place, accessible to people from every walk of life at whatever age, brimming with surprises and novel ideas, as rich in variety as she could make it. There is formality in the knot and rose gardens near the entrance, wild abandon in the meadow and cottage garden where flowers of every shape and size grow wherever the seeds land. The children's garden is filled with plants that play on the imagination, like Turtle's Head and Monkey Flower; a playhouse is surrounded by the A to Z garden featuring a plant for every letter of the alphabet. Children and adults love navigating the tricky cedar corridors of the maze, and the fiddlehead-shaped labyrinth that follows. The Sense and Sensitivity Garden for the visually impaired features plants that are meant to be touched or smelled; the glorious scent of Lemon Thyme and carpets of alyssum mixes with the velvety feel of Lamb's Ear and the prickly surface of succulent Sedums. Kingsbrae has an apple orchard where only New Brunswick heritage varieties are grown; the Charlotte County Gardens specialize in vegetable crops grown historically in the area, surrounded naturally with a wonderful fringe of blueberry plants. Woodland trails wander through an old-growth Acadian forest edging on a newer area of more recent species, so typical of rural New Brunswick. Kingsbrae is at once an outdoor classroom, a living museum, and a seductive and entertaining blend of art, horticulture, and nature that will forever evolve and change not only with the seasons but with the years.
Kingsbrae is much more than a generous benefaction. It is the artistic expression of a sensitive, warm-hearted person who values heritage, nature, and community, and who believes that things of beauty must be made accessible to all. For her generous philanthropy, for her personal commitment to New Brunswick and its people, and for her creative vision, we honour Lucinda Flemer.
From: Honoris Causa - UA Case 70, Box 3
LUCINDA M. FLEMER
to be Doctor of Letters
Most of us dream dreams that never come true. Lucinda Flemer, on the other hand, has made her dream a reality. Deeply attached to St. Andrews, New Brunswick, and eager to make a lasting contribution both to the place and the people, she imagined the possibility of public gardens, perhaps reminiscent of some of the great public gardens of the world, but at the same time distinctive to St. Andrews and New Brunswick. Kingsbrae Horticultural Gardens is her brainchild, and in a remarkable three short years, she made it happen.
Mrs. Flemer was born in Montreal and she was educated at King's Hall, in Compton, Quebec, and at the Sorbonne in Paris. She studied languages and became proficient in French, Dutch, and Italian. At the same time, perhaps influenced by her grandmother and her parents, she developed an interest in the arts and, by extension, a deep appreciation for Canada's heritage in buildings, open spaces, and art objects. Luckily for New Brunswick, she also became deeply attached to this province through her frequent visits here; while she lives in Toronto, she passionately loves St. Andrews, where she became involved in community affairs and still actively serves as a director of the Passamaquoddy Lodge. Long before she created Kingsbrae, she became a patron of the arts and a member of the Board of Governors of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery. In 1993, the Government of Canada recognized her contribution as an arts benefactor by granting her the Lescarbot Award. It was out of this background that she first envisioned Kingsbrae Gardens which she planned as a gift to the people of New Brunswick. The provincial government on behalf of us all accepted her generous offer. Today, Kingsbrae is already, even in its infancy, a thing of beauty and a joy to the thousands of visitors who have passed through its gates. It has become a major tourist destination, an employer of 25-30 men and women from the area, a significant contributor to the local economy, and an object of enormous pride in the community.
But a surface description misses the mark; Kingsbrae is art, it is brimming with creative imagination, it is poetry. Much of the creative impulse is Mrs. Flemer's. She worked closely with professional landscape designers to exploit the natural features of the site, such as the magnificent vistas it affords of Passamaquoddy Bay, and to appeal to the enormous variety of tastes one finds in society. Above all, she wanted this to be a public place, accessible to people from every walk of life at whatever age, brimming with surprises and novel ideas, as rich in variety as she could make it. There is formality in the knot and rose gardens near the entrance, wild abandon in the meadow and cottage garden where flowers of every shape and size grow wherever the seeds land. The children's garden is filled with plants that play on the imagination, like Turtle's Head and Monkey Flower; a playhouse is surrounded by the A to Z garden featuring a plant for every letter of the alphabet. Children and adults love navigating the tricky cedar corridors of the maze, and the fiddlehead-shaped labyrinth that follows. The Sense and Sensitivity Garden for the visually impaired features plants that are meant to be touched or smelled; the glorious scent of Lemon Thyme and carpets of alyssum mixes with the velvety feel of Lamb's Ear and the prickly surface of succulent Sedums. Kingsbrae has an apple orchard where only New Brunswick heritage varieties are grown; the Charlotte County Gardens specialize in vegetable crops grown historically in the area, surrounded naturally with a wonderful fringe of blueberry plants. Woodland trails wander through an old-growth Acadian forest edging on a newer area of more recent species, so typical of rural New Brunswick. Kingsbrae is at once an outdoor classroom, a living museum, and a seductive and entertaining blend of art, horticulture, and nature that will forever evolve and change not only with the seasons but with the years.
Kingsbrae is much more than a generous benefaction. It is the artistic expression of a sensitive, warm-hearted person who values heritage, nature, and community, and who believes that things of beauty must be made accessible to all. For her generous philanthropy, for her personal commitment to New Brunswick and its people, and for her creative vision, we honour Lucinda Flemer.
From: Honoris Causa - UA Case 70, Box 3
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