gardenclub

A garden of raised beds sit atop a gently sloping hill, while cocooned in the center of various buildings which house the residents of the property. A midst the plants a handful of staff and volunteers casually chat. This is the peaceful setting I observe as I first arrive on the grounds of The George Pearson Center, home to 114 residents with various physical disabilities.

This is the work place of my friend Sarah Wenman, as well as the home of one of her labors of love, The Therapeutic Garden Program. It is because of this program that I am here today.

My hope is to learn what a typical day at the center is all about.

The first thing I learn as I wash my hands in the bathroom, is that I really like their choice in soap. This cheerful little fellow who I like to call Mr. Soapy Soap, just brightened my day.

Ok back to the Theraputic Garden Program and why we are here........Now, meet my friend Sarah!

Sarah is one of the Founders and Project Co-coordinators of the Garden Program. As long as I have known her she has always been surrounded by things that she is growing. Whether it is beautiful plants started from seed, or a thriving community started from a dream and her passion. As she shows me around the facility, it becomes quickly evident that she is extremely knowledgeable, both in regards to understanding the unique needs of each resident as well as to the unique needs of each plant. In her words “This garden is about building relationships with people and building relationships with plants."

The main objective of the garden program is matching volunteers with residents, to assist in planting, harvesting and general tending of the garden. Many of the residents have very little independence and limited space of their own, so each resident is given their own garden bed to provide them with more control and freedom of choice. It is completely up to the residents what they want to plant, even if it makes no sense to anyone else.

As well as providing care for the residents, The George Person Center is also home to the Farmers on 57th project. An Urban Farm offering a community agricultural program, and various other programs such as the one I'm visiting today,

Volunteer orientation begins at 1:30pm, and it's decided that for today we will be harvesting the late blooming tomatoes, but mostly, because it is so late in the season, we will be taking the garden out till next year.

Even though it sounds like a lot of work, everyone is pretty laid back and non rushed. There is laughter and jokes and a general sense of don't sweat the small stuff. The more time I spend here, the more I feel a strong sense of community, and it is obvious that there are long term friendships and strong bonds between the residents, the volunteers, and the staff.

I am told that at the start of the program every year in March, the excited residents line up, eager to start their gardens. The majority of volunteers come at this time also. Some are referred from Vancouver General Hospital, and others come from The VanDusen Garden Master Gardener Club. Today however due to the lack of availability of VGH Volunteers at this time of year, there are only two volunteers at the start of the afternoon. A young student named Justine Vimon.....and well....me.

The harvesting takes very little time, as there is not much to harvest this time of year. Now it is on to weeding, general clean up and beginning to take the garden out.

Here my skills come up a little short. l'm not sure what I should be leaving and what I should be getting rid of, so I stick to what I know. Grass and brown stuff!

I get to work clearing as much as I can. I hear the rustling of bushes beside me and I look over to see a staff member chopping at a bush, removing large branches. She has a huge pile of branches, weeds, and large debris beside her.

I look to my tiny one inch pile of grass I've weeded.

She walks by, hefty branch hoisted over her shoulder. She smiles,

I smile back, tiny blade of grass pinch between my fingers.

Beside me, Justine Dimon a volunteer from VGH, determinedly works at pruning a blackberry bush while continually unsnagging herself from the thorns. Justine is a student offering her time to the program. She is not here to gain required hours for a course, as I had first suspected. Instead she says she comes because it helps to calm her between courses and she loves the family feel around the center. She says she enjoys how there is always so much going on with the many diverse programs the center also offers, including an art program, and the community kitchen program.

As Justine and I pull out what we both hope are the weeds of the garden, she shares some of her experiences.

"It can be difficult to find balance between being helpful and supportive to the residents, while also making sure they have as much independence for themselves as possible."

Despite the few challenges, she has mainly been impacted in a positive way.

"Being here, I have learned about the many different types of disabilities. I've learned that having a disability doesn't need to slow you down. Those with disabilities learn to adapt and have many different tools of coping."

I'm impressed by her perspective and enjoying hearing of her experiences. However, I have run out of grass and brown things, so its time leave this job to those who actually know what they are doing.

I'm feeling slightly inadequate with my lack of knowledge of weeds and, well..... gardening in total, but I have to note here that as much inexperience as I have, no matter how slow I was, or how many silly questions I had to ask, I never once felt that they were impatient with me. Everyone was always encouraging and happy to answer any questions. It comes across as a very friendly and supportive environment to learn in.

I track down my friend Sarah. She is carrying a big box of some interesting vegetables that I have never seen. I'm intrigued so I follow her. Apparently these are called Tomatillos. I don't know anything about them, but Sarah tells me that they will be turned in to a green salsa, so they are ok in my book.
Sarah begins to sort through them removing any that are over ripe. I'm here to help, so I dig my hands in and join her.
The top layer is no problem, only a few have gone soft in their paper lantern like skins. Further in to the box we run in to more squishy tomatillos, and a mild odor of bad produce wafts up. The next layer is even worse, I'm not as excited about this job anymore, but if Sarah the seasoned gardener doesn't quit, well then neither will I.

I don't want to seem like a wimp so I push on, ignoring the sour smell invading my nostrils and the unfamiliar squishy texture beneath my fingers. It's fine, this must all be in a days work of a gardener, I'll get used to it just like Sarah is.
I look up at Sarah, even she is making a face. This can't be good.
I must be making a face of my own, because when she looks up at me she wastes no time in letting me off the hook to poke around and learn more out in the garden.
Also between you and me....I think she felt bad for making me go through smelly vegetables, this is not normally a job they have to do.
Either way, she didn't have to ask me twice, I was gone in a flash!

The over ripe tomatillos may have been a sour experience, but that quickly passed as I head to the sink to wash the odor off my hands, and run in to my old friend Mr. Soapy soap. Just love that guy!

With sparkly fresh hands, I walk through the garden, reveling in this new found freedom that wielding a paper and pen has given me. With in no time I run in to Aimee Taylor the Horticultural Therapist (Did you guys know that was a thing? Me neither. Anyway, obviously I googled it when I got home. If you're curious you can look it up here Horticultural Therapist).
So I ask if I can help with anything, and Aimee quickly leads me somewhere. She's walking fast, this must be important! Oh how exciting!
What interesting thing will I see?
What new thing will I learn?
I am lead in to room and placed before a large box of apples. Some look delicious and some.... not so much.

I know where this is going!

I silently chuckle to myself at the irony as I begin sorting through the fruit. Its not so bad really, I know this food is going to get turned I to something delicious for the community dinner for the residents. Another program that Sarah runs. More on that in the coming months.

After conquering the box of apples, I wander out to the garden again and find Aimee harvesting potatoes.
She shares some stories with me.
Aimee's has loved seeing the garden evolve from seeds, and watching its many stages of growth over the years. She fondly remembers how much joy the garden has brought to the residents. Some residents still with us and some of the beloved residents having passed on.
"My interest has never wavered." says Aimee
"I am always learning new things through working with the plants, most importantly it has taught me to let go of any inkling for perfection. There have been many trials and errors, so the best attitude is to let go of control, To also realize that nature knows best, and to be prepared for surprises."
She says this with a big smile and I get the sense that she enjoys the challenges of the garden.

A cheerful volunteer named Heather wheels out to join us. Heather was a resident 30 years ago and since moving out has become a volunteer to offer peer support and general cheering up for the residents. She exclaims that she is sad the garden is getting taken out. She also has a basket of candy in her lap which she kindly offers to anyone close by. She is quickly engulfed by a circle of eager staff members and volunteers. They begin a friendly banter while enjoying a quick treat.

Anne K. a volunteer from the VanDusen Gardens is expertly wielding shears as she pulls out the dead plants.
Her expertise, she says, comes from a background of working with plants. She offers her skills to help others learn about the plants. At the same time she is also grateful to the volunteers that come from the hospital, their background working with disabilities and communicating with residents who may not have the capacity to communicate verbally.
"It's an art to understand what they are trying to say sometimes" says Anna
"One of the biggest challenges, is knowing when to be outgoing to help draw the residents out of themselves, but also knowing when to be quiet if they need space".

As she shares this, I can begin to see how this unique combination of volunteers work so perfectly together. The medical students can help bridge relationships with the residents, while the garden volunteers help bridge relationships with the plants.

The afternoon is coming to a close. Baskets of the days harvest line the building, Large brown bags of weeds and debris sit scattered around the garden. The tightly packed bushes now cleared, give more room for the new growth next year. There is a sense of accomplishment and gratitude for being part of this program for the day.
I'm touched by the devotion of volunteers and staff. I'm humbled by how cheerful and grateful the residents are.
They could complain, they could be miserable at their circumstance, but they aren't.
They are happy, and appreciative, seeming to find joy in the simplest of moments, moments I normally find small and insignificant. I have learned how much I take my physical freedom for-granted, and how adaptable and resilient the human spirit is.
I see nothing but strength in the residents of The George Pearson Center, because I realize they have had to learn life lessons that able-bodied people rarely get to experience. Instead of feeling sorry for anyone with any kind of disability, I will now be awed by their strength and resiliency. I hope I can learn from their ability to adapt to the difficulties of life while still enjoying the simple moments in each day.

Farmers on 57th Theraputic Garden Program

Want to learn more about this organization?

Click the links below to learn about various other programs, or to learn how to get involved.

The George Pearson Center

Farmers on 57th

The Theraputic Garden Program

How to get involved