The Garlic from the Jesuit House

(Originally published in the 2016 issue of Semences du Patrimoine)

It was during a Seed Festival in Quebec that I first met Kevin Bouchard. Among the crowd visiting the booths that day, he approached me and handed me a small paper envelope with the handwritten label “Jesuit Garden Garlic.” He quickly introduced himself and explained that he was tending a garden that had once belonged to the English and, before that, to the Jesuits. In this garden, a rather unusual garlic was growing. He had done some research to identify it, but no one he contacted could put a name to the variety. Unfortunately, he was about to move and had no idea who would take over the garden after him. According to him, the owners were planning to destroy part of the land to build a marquee. Before leaving, he instinctively gathered a few bulbils from the patch that had existed for years.

I took the small package, thanked him, and brought the precious envelope home. I planted the bulbils and then didn’t think much about them.

A Pure White Bulb

That was until I noticed, later in the summer, a wild-looking tuft perched atop a garlic flower stalk growing in my garden. I had planted the precious bulbils from the paper envelope in pots in the spring and later transplanted them into the garden, not paying much attention to them since garlic bulbils typically take two years to develop into harvestable cloves. Sometimes, this process can take up to five years!
So, I was completely surprised to see a flower stalk emerging in the first year—and even more surprised at its appearance! Instead of the usual round cluster of bulbils that mature in early July, this garlic produced tiny bulbils—but they were hairy! Each bulbil had elongated into a tender green cylindrical leaf, forming a disheveled-looking cluster, a trait seen in some varieties. That autumn, when I harvested them, I was astonished to unearth fully developed, beautifully shaped, pure white garlic bulbs of a good size.

When Kevin visited our booth, he mentioned that, based on his research, this garlic might be Allium vineale, or wild vineyard garlic, but he couldn’t confirm it. However, after conducting my own research, I determined that it is indeed a cultivated garlic variety.

The Jesuit House of Sillery

The garden where this garlic grew is within the grounds of the Jesuit House of Sillery. Over the years, the garden has disappeared, leaving only traces of this perennial garlic and a forgotten variety of mint. But where did the garlic originate?
The site of the Jesuit House was occupied long before the arrival of the missionaries, when nomadic tribes would seasonally settle along the St. Lawrence River for fishing and trade.

Then, in the 1720s, the Jesuits built a house in Sillery (now a historic monument) where they practiced both agriculture and evangelization. It is well known that religious communities engaged in subsistence farming to feed their members
« The Last of the Fruit Trees »). It is possible that this garlic was introduced during that time..

After the Seven Years’ War, the house was rented out to the Briti France Brooke ish during the summer. An English writer, Frances Brooke, left her homeland in 1763 to join her husband in Quebec. She stayed at the Sillery house for four years, using her surroundings as inspiration for her novel’s most vivid scenes.

In the 19th century, the house was home to Richard Dobell, a prosperous timber merchant. It is known that vineyards grew extensively on the property, so perhaps vineyard garlic was introduced during that time as well.

Richard Dorbell

Over time, traces of the Jesuits and former inhabitants faded. Only the house remains as a testament to their presence.

In 1929, the Commission of Historic Monuments transformed the house into a museum. Despite its designation and new function, the building faced threats of demolition and periods of neglect due to insufficient funding. In 1986, the City of Sillery took ownership, and the house was eventually restored to serve as an interpretation and exhibition center.
Today, the garden has nearly vanished. Only a mysterious clump of garlic remains beneath an old apple tree.