1804–1893
Toronto Necropolis
Section S Lot 4
George Leslie was a Scottish-born horticulturalist whose work transformed Toronto from being a treeless frontier town into a city celebrated for its greenery. After arriving in Upper Canada in 1824, he founded Toronto Nurseries on Kingston Road (now Queen Street East) in 1845. It grew to 250 acres, the largest nursery in Canada, and supplied thousands of trees and shrubs that defined Toronto’s parks, cemeteries and streets.
One of Leslie’s most significant collaborations was with Henry Adolphus Engelhardt, the landscape architect behind Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Engelhardt envisioned a Victorian “garden cemetery,” and Leslie’s nursery provided the shade trees, evergreens and flowering shrubs that brought this design to life. Their partnership created a landmark of beauty and tranquility that remains one of Toronto’s most cherished green spaces. Leslie’s expertise ensured Engelhardt’s plans were realized with hardy, ornamental species suited to Ontario’s climate, blending artistry and horticulture in a way that was ahead of its time.
Leslie also supplied trees for Allan Gardens, worked closely with the Toronto Horticultural Society he helped found, as well as planted untold rows of maples, lindens and horse chestnuts along city streets – introducing the concept of urban shade trees when Toronto was largely bare. His nursery even shipped trees across Canada and overseas, helping establish Ontario’s fruit-growing industry.
Beyond planting trees, Leslie changed how Torontonians thought about urban beauty, health and civic pride. Through exhibitions, catalogues and articles, he made ornamental plants and fruit trees accessible to ordinary homeowners. Leslieville, the community that grew around his nursery, bears his name and reflects his role as a builder of both landscapes and neighbourhoods.
Leslie was a visionary who foresaw the environmental and social benefits of trees in cities at a time when urban forestry was largely unknown, anticipating modern sustainability and urban design principles.
Today, his legacy lives on in the trees shading Toronto’s streets, the serenity of Mount Pleasant Cemetery and the beauty of Allan Gardens. Leslie’s vision of a greener city helped shape Toronto’s identity and laid the foundation for the urban canopy we enjoy today. Fittingly, Toronto Necropolis provides the final resting place of this important Toronto pioneer with the shading presence of old trees.
Source:
• Wikipedia – George Leslie
• Mount Pleasant Group – History of Toronto Cemeteries
• Mount Pleasant Group – George Leslie
Photo: Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
