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Hello there, hi, I’m Tobi Nussbaum, CEO of the National Capital Commission, and 

 

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in today’s episode of Capital Stories, we’re going to learn about these amazing 

 

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greenhouses that are hosted in Rideau Hall, but serve all of the NCC’s official 

 

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residences, and including, of course, Rideau Hall itself, and Rideau Cottage, 

 

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and Harrington Lake, and Stornoway, and The Farm. And we know that Rideau Hall, 

 

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of course, has been the official residence of Canada’s governors general for 

 

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over 150 years. 

 

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It is a beautiful, 32-hectare estate in the heart of Ottawa that features 

 

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everything from tall evergreens, sugar maples… we have a totem, we have an 

 

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inukshuk, there are over 150 trees planted by royalty and foreign dignitaries 

 

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from all over the world. 

 

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There are, of course, also, greenhouses at Rideau Hall that many people don't 

 

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know, and they are both utilitarian and beautiful in terms of the experience 

 

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you have by walking through them. 

 

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And today, I’m happy to be joined by Kathleen Minkowski, who is our supervisor 

 

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of gardens and greenhouses, and Kathleen, you’re very lucky because I would say 

 

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you have probably one of the best offices of anyone at the NCC, considering you 

 

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call this your office. 

 

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So, I’m really intrigued. 

 

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Firstly, can you tell us a bit about yourself and how long you’ve been working 

 

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at the NCC, and what prompted you to apply to this amazing job? 

 

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Absolutely, yeah, for sure. 

 

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So, I’ve worked with the NCC for about six years now, and I’ve always kind of 

 

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worked in the industry of landscaping and horticulture, working on flower 

 

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farms, kind of travelling around the world, and I came to Ottawa about seven, 

 

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eight years ago, and I found one of the positions, a contract position back 

 

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then, and then everything’s just sort of evolved; and I’ve come to where I am 

 

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today, and I feel extremely lucky, because it is an incredible opportunity and 

 

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such a unique role here. 

 

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Fantastic. 

 

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Now, can you help us sort of situate, we’re sitting in a greenhouse… can you 

 

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tell us about this greenhouse, and tell us about the other greenhouses that are 

 

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all connected and what their functions are? 

 

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Absolutely. 

 

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So, this is greenhouse number one. 

 

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It is our main showhouse. 

 

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It was built in 1926, so it’s reaching about 100 years old now. 

 

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So, originally, its original intent was to be enjoyed by the occupants of 

 

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Rideau Hall, and historically, it was used for cut flowers. There were binaries 

 

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on the property, citrus collections, and then all of our other working houses 

 

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were used to grow plants and kind of cycle through the plants that were 

 

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used, as well as the plants that were used in all of the residences. 

 

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Okay, and then there’s adjoining greenhouses as well, right? 

 

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Yeah. 

 

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And they all have slightly different functions? 

 

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They do, yeah. 

 

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So, the Palm House is showhouse number two. 

 

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It has more tropical plants, if you will, including bananas, cocoa trees, 

 

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pineapples, bromeliads, and then we have greenhouse three, four, five, and six. 

 

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So, three and four are set at cooler temperatures, five and six are a bit 

 

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warmer, and that’s sort of where we take plants to take a break and rest after 

 

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being in the showhouses, and it also stores our seasonal plants as well, which 

 

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we change out over the course of the year. 

 

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Okay, and so different greenhouses are set at different temperatures. 

 

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How do you control the temperature of each of the greenhouses? 

 

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Yeah, we have a program system called Priva, and so that’s how we moderate the 

 

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internal climate in the greenhouses, and that’s monitored by our greenhouse 

 

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technicians every day. 

 

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And that’s using, I mean… would it be about opening windows or not opening 

 

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windows? 

 

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There’s not actually heating systems in them, are there? 

 

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We do have one here in the basement of the greenhouses, but then, since the 

 

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greenhouses are so old, a lot of the ventilation and the windows, they are 

 

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operated manually. 

 

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Okay, great. 

 

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So, I’ve had a chance to look through this greenhouse. 

 

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You call it a show greenhouse? 

 

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A showhouse. 

 

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And I’m always intrigued because there are many flowers and plants that I don’t 

 

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have in my own house, or I don’t see around the lands and parks of the NCC. 

 

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So, can you tell us a little bit about some of the more unusual varieties, and 

 

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if there are any stories behind them? 

 

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Maybe I’ll start with, you know, what is your favourite plant in this 

 

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greenhouse? 

 

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Oh my gosh, there are so many to choose from. 

 

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I feel like our orchid display that we have in late winter, early spring is 

 

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pretty incredible. 

 

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But a plant that is of interest, I think a lot of people may have heard of it, 

 

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is our “jade collection” that was donated by Youssef Karsh. 

 

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He’s a famous, or was, a famous Ottawa photographer, well known for taking 

 

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portraits of Queen Elizabeth as a princess, or Winston Churchill. 

 

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And he donated those over 40 years ago, and they’re estimated to be about 150 

 

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years old, I would say. 

 

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So, we’ve taken care of those, or our greenhouse team has taken care of them 

 

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over the years. 

 

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But we also have a cymbidium orchid that was left by Adrienne Clarkson. 

 

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And over the years, we’ve created about 10 plants from the original. 

 

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Oh wow. 

 

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And of course, Adrienne Clarkson is known for converting the private backyards 

 

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from annuals to all perennials, and creating an extensive peony collection as 

 

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well. 

 

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And like I mentioned, we have a citrus collection, so we’ve got lemons, 

 

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oranges, grapefruits, tangerines, and those would be used by the staff kitchen, 

 

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or the kitchen staff in Rideau Hall. 

 

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Okay. 

 

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So yeah, we have a lot of unique plants here that are taken care of by our 

 

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staff. 

 

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We’ll propagate them and try and save all of our collections. 

 

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And this is, you can tell I’m not a horticulturist by the question I’m about to 

 

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ask, but are they all perennials—or are there any annuals in the greenhouse as 

 

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well? 

 

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We have both. 

 

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So, we have all of our core plants that act as the structure. 

 

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Our trees are podocarpus, or cypress, and then we’ll have filler plants like 

 

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ferns, and we’ll use annuals. 

 

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We’ll have azaleas in the spring, hydrangeas, bulbs, chrysanthemums, and then 

 

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in the wintertime, we’ll use poinsettias. 

 

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Okay, and do we grow our own annuals here out of bulbs and seeds? 

 

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We do. 

 

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So our bulb and spring show, we start all the bulbs in the fall, and we 

 

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overwinter them in our root cellar here. 

 

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And then a lot of the annuals that we use in here, or in our planters at 

 

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events, or in the cut flower garden, we’ll start from seed and then use them 

 

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for all of those purposes. 

 

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Oh, isn’t that great? 

 

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So, you mentioned that the kitchen staff use some of the fruit that we grow. 

 

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You mentioned grapefruit, oranges, and lemons. 

 

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Are those the... 

 

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And limes as well. 

 

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And limes. 

 

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Do we have herbs at all? 

 

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Absolutely, yeah. 

 

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In the wintertime, we’ll have them in the greenhouses so that the kitchen staff 

 

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can come out and use them to enjoy in the house. 

 

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But we also start all of the herbs and the vegetables in the greenhouses that 

 

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are then transplanted out into our vegetable garden. 

 

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Now, speaking of vegetable garden, I presume that is mostly a summer activity 

 

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and that’s outside? 

 

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Yes, it is. 

 

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And it’s also part of your responsibilities? 

 

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For sure, yeah. 

 

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So, like I mentioned, everything is planted out in the spring, which is a huge 

 

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ordeal. 

 

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May is very busy out there, but our team does a great job. 

 

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And they also have a cut flower garden section, which is a big program for our 

 

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floral team here. 

 

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And all of the herbs and the vegetables and flowers are used inside of all the 

 

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official residences. 

 

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Great. 

 

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Now, we’re here on a beautiful summer day. 

 

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What would it be like if we were to be having this conversation in the middle 

 

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of February? 

 

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What would be different? 

 

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Well, first off, with the structure of the greenhouse, since it is about 100 

 

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years old, it’s had a lot of wear and tear over the years. 

 

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And it is a mostly wooden structure as well. 

 

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So, in Ottawa, as you know, we have extreme temperatures, weather conditions, 

 

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harsh winters. 

 

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So, that’s definitely had an effect on the greenhouse. 

 

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But we are very lucky that it’s climate controlled. 

 

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So, yes, there is not as much available in the winter in terms of vegetable and 

 

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cut flowers, but we have the luxury of being able to grow some of it in the 

 

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wintertime. 

 

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And we’ll still have our beautiful Christmas display set up in the winter. 

 

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So, it’s still able to be enjoyed year-round. 

 

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Great. 

 

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Now, although these are not open to the public on a regular basis, I believe 

 

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there are a few times in the year where the public is invited to explore the 

 

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greenhouses. 

 

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Is that right? 

 

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Absolutely. 

 

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So, with Open Doors Ottawa, it’s typically the first week of June and the long 

 

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weekends of July, August and September. 

 

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So, it’s open to the public then, as well as the backyard gardens. 

 

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And those are opportunities for people to come and enjoy all of the hard work 

 

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that our team does every day. 

 

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And we hope that we’re showcasing Canadian horticulture so that it’s enjoyed by 

 

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all Canadians in perpetuity. 

 

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That’s wonderful. 

 

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And if the governor general is hosting events, are the guests of those events 

 

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also able to see the showhouses? 

 

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Absolutely. 

 

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Yeah, so that’s when we’ll open the private backyard gardens and all of the 

 

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showhouses, and they’re able to walk through at their leisure and enjoy all of 

 

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the plants. 

 

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I’ve seen, I think one of the fairly famous photos, of Jeanne Sauvé and François 

 

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Mitterrand, the then President of France, sitting, I don’t know if it was 

 

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exactly in these chairs or this table, but there is a photo of them in the 

 

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greenhouses. 

 

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But are you aware in the time that you’ve worked here… of the greenhouse being 

 

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used for that kind of more intimate hosting opportunity? 

 

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For sure, yeah. 

 

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There’ll be some private dinners that are hosted in here and our team is 

 

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definitely involved with the setup for that. 

 

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As well as whenever there are major events like Order of Canada, we make sure 

 

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that everything is looking beautiful and tidy. 

 

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At Christmas time, you know, there’ll be family visiting, and so we’ll have a 

 

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beautiful Christmas tree in here, as well as all of the governor generals and 

 

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their spouses, their family. 

 

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There’s some historic photos of them in here as well. 

 

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Fantastic. 

 

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Is there anything else that you think people listening to us or watching us 

 

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right now would want to know? 

 

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Well, I think maybe what some people might not know too, at Rideau Hall, the 

 

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public grounds are open for enjoyment. 

 

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So there’s a skating rink on-site, weather permitting, and… 

 

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I guess lots of trees on the public grounds, right? 

 

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That’s true. 

 

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Because, I mean, in terms of the landscaping that happens on the public 

 

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grounds, that isn’t necessarily your responsibility. 

 

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We have other colleagues who are looking after that. 

 

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But do you have any role in sort of looking at the planting plan for the public 

 

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gardens as well? 

 

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For sure, yeah. 

 

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So most of the gardens that we work on have already been here historically. 

 

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So, a lot of what we do is maintain. 

 

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But on the occasion that there is a plant installation, we like to keep 

 

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everything in-house. 

 

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And so, a lot of my co-workers are very well-versed in designing and they’ll 

 

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create a planting plan. 

 

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And we have a lot of students in the summertime that will help planting all of 

 

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that out. 

 

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And then we have our Canadian Heritage Rose Garden as well. 

 

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That’s a beautiful feature on the property. 

 

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That garden addition started about 26 years ago. 

 

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So that’s a beautiful place in the public area for the public to visit. 

 

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Fantastic. 

 

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Kathleen, thank you. 

 

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Thank you for sharing all this. 

 

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And I am a little envious that you get to come to work here every day. 

 

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But you guys do a wonderful job and [I] really appreciate you chatting with me 

 

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today. 

 

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Thank you very much.