The creation of the lilac collection is attributed to Henry Teuscher, the first curator of the Jardin botanique. The first lilacs were planted in the 1930s.
Vestiges of Mont-de-La-Salle
Archaeological remains can be seen on the site of the lilac collection.
Remnants of a farm building's foundations, identified during archaeological excavations in 2000, remind us of the presence of the Christian Brothers’ estate on this site at the end of the 19th century.
This estate, named Mont-de-La-Salle, consisted of several buildings, including a farm, a chapel, a cemetery, and gardens. The main building was constructed between 1885 and 1887. It housed the novitiate and was likely located in the area of the current Alpine Garden.
Conrad Kirouac, who would later Brother Marie-Victorin, founder of the Jardin botanique de Montréal, was a boarder at Mont-de-La-Salle from June 5, 1901 to March 11, 1903.
In 1913, the Brothers sold their property to the City of Maisonneuve (later incorporated into the City of Montreal), which had plans to establish a park there—Maisonneuve Park. The Christian Brothers officially left the estate in 1917 and the building was left abandoned. It burned down in 1925 and was subsequently demolished.
In 1931, the City of Montreal set aside part of Maisonneuve Park for the creation of the Jardin botanique de Montréal.
