The garden’s design, special tools and sensory-stimulating plant composition provide the benefits of therapeutic horticulture. The enabling garden Story by Tania Moffat, photos provided by the Riverwood Conservancy Enabling Garden I
magine for a moment that you couldn’t get to your garden, that you were unable to see the flowers, smell the sweet scent of lavender in the air or put your hands
into the cool earth. As gardeners we can readily imagine how devastating that would be. Our gardens are a refuge, a place to relieve our stress, to feel alive, get in touch with nature and in tune with the world around us. Now imagine a garden where someone in a wheelchair
is able to plant and weed to their hearts content; a garden where women who have suffered from physical violence can see not only the beauty around them but also in them- selves; a garden where children with disabilities can see, touch, taste and learn about the natural world; a garden, where everyone is welcome. Executive director, Douglas Markoff wanted to create
such a garden to enable people, whatever their disability, to find happiness, health and wellbeing in, and he went for it. "I encouraged the City of Mississauga to support the idea and they not only generously provided the space,
26 • Beautiful Gardens 2015
but offered their help and assistance in many other ways. Through a very successful fund-raising campaign we were able to move forward and create the Riverwood Conser- vancy Enabling Garden. It is a very different garden. There are no others like it located within a public park, and no other that offer the constant programming that we do,” Douglas says. The Riverwood Conservancy Enabling Garden was
constructed within the MacEwan Terrace Garden on Riverwood’s 60-hectare (150-acre) property of urban wilderness along the Credit River. Here, in central Missis- sauga, history, forests, wetlands and wildlife abound. The Riverwood Conservancy, a charity that provides programs to the community in environmental education, gardening and natural areas stewardship provided an ideal fit for the new garden project. MacEwan Terrace Garden, a public garden filled walkways and paths surrounded by mature trees and a rich collection of plants, is a wonderful place for mobile clients to continuing exploring nature. Landplan
localgardener.net
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