In the late summer I was able to visit the home of Pat Cooper, where she has created her own haven of horticultural therapy in her front yard. Now as many of you know, I am a glutton for fully landscaped front yards and the need for people to be in their front yard to make their living environment a safer place. But when speaking with Pat, I was surprised to learn that the yard she created was not solely for the reasons I enjoy, but for a more holistic form of medical treatment which she had adopted.

	Pat lovingly cares for her therapeutic front yard garden

Though gardening on what seems to be a labor-intensive garden, Pat is able to hold her own and relieve much of the physical pain she endures with her chronic progressive Multiple Sclerosis. At times she needs the assistance of a sentimental walking stick that was given to her by another garden enthusiast. But Pat pushes on and finds the tending of her garden to be a more relaxing and rehabilitating form of labor.

Pat's Front Yard Garden

On days when the pain can be severe, she claims that she is only able to ‘putter’. On better days she tackles some areas even a seasoned able-bodied gardener would find challenging. Her efforts are duly noted and recognized by her neighbors. The photo taken from the second story bedroom window is from a neighbor who watches and admires the work that Pat does to improve her condition while improving the neighborhood. So much of the work that Pat puts into the garden is respected and appreciated by even the youngest of viewers. A nearby school regularly schedules visits with Pat to hear her speak about her garden and progress in the garden. Pat has a photo diary with which she shares her pride and accomplishments with others.

Incidentally, I have to apologize to Pat, as I was privileged to use the material from the photo diary and had inadvertently misplaced it for some time. When I finally discovered it, it had been right in the open all along but had fallen behind a box in my dining room. But this goes to show that when someone is suffering from a progressively debilitating disease, even something as small as a photo album that many of us able-bodied individuals take for granted is cherished and important. And so too are the efforts of the garden she has created. 

Pat's lavender hedge

Though Pat has said “One cannot expect perfection when one has an illness,” you’d never know it from the feats she has tackled and the benefits she reaps from them. I was astonished to find lavender (Lavendula angustifolia ‘Munstead’) growing as a hedge. When I asked how much that cost each year, I was shocked to find out that this hedge has been perennial for a number of years. Pat was able to point out the numerous seedlings that have germinated in the bark mulch that runs through the beds and creates the pathways of the garden. For those others of us gardening in zone 3 who have basically abandoned the idea of growing lavender, here is a lady who has been able to achieve the supposedly unachievable!

And lavender is by far one of the most therapeutic plants known, not just for its pleasing and calming scent, but the medicinal value of the plants as well. I guess it is because many of us baby the plants too much, whereas Pat says she does not get anxious about the garden and the plants. It is survival of the fittest in her garden, but she seems to get things to survive quite nicely - it is this success that she believes is what makes her stronger and able to resist the progress of the MS.

Lavender And Beyond

Other successful plantings include Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ with its bright blue flowers that seem to be present throughout the year, dianthus of all sorts, Russian sage, daylilies, echinacea, and Annabelle hydrangeas rounding out the predominant perennials. Calendula and snapdragons are her favorite annuals, as they tend to persist well into the colder fall when all others have faded away. A special mention is warranted for her Blue Stocking monarda, which adds to her delight with the influx of wildlife that comes to visit the garden as well.

	The rescued screech owl

Pat shared with me a story of a small screech owl that had found shelter in her front yard therapy garden. It seemed to be a little late for the winter migration, and sadly when the bird flew off it was hit by car on the street. Luckily it was not fatally injured, and the bird was rescued and nursed back to health at the local Wildlife Refuge Center. The owl remained there for years as its wing have been severely damaged.

It is these small nuances that the garden holds which keep Pat toiling away at it. She says the space helps her connect to life outside. Where many people with the same disease give up and accept the deteriorating prognosis, Pat refuses to accept it and feels that her front garden has given her a better relationship with the neighborhood and the area children, who often come to help or just sit and learn what Pat is doing. She has one young fellow who has fallen in love with French sorrel because of her garden. All Pat can say is “I’m happy it’s not in the back as many other gardens are.”

And Pat’s back yard is very small. Recently her husband erected a screened-in gazebo that occupies much of what would be considered a standard backyard in modern terms. But Pat says that is only for the nights when company comes over and the mosquitoes are bad, otherwise they are in the front yard either toiling or relaxing at a small bistro set. Her garden gives her much pleasure from both working in it and from being able to sit back and appreciate it. In the winter, the garden has enough character and vertical elements that even on -30º cold days, she can sit in the living room at the picture window and watch the squirrels, chickadees and other winter wildlife use her haven while she plans ahead for the spring work. “Without the garden, my life would be so empty” is how Pat feels of her achievement and looks forward to the little animals and the children as well as her plants coming back each year in the spring.

	Val's vertical gardens

Valerie's Vertical Garden

I’ve also had the pleasure to make the acquaintance of Valerie Denesiuk, who is one of those early Baby Boomers starting to find that the things she once was able to do are becoming more laborious. Whereas Pat is still able to get right down on all fours and garden at times, Valerie has found that bending down can be a harrowing experience. For lower areas in her yard, Val uses a cart which she purchased to help her sit and putter on things like tending her containers, pruning roses, weeding her garden and other common gardening tasks.

Being of hardy Eastern European stock, she feels that she could never do without her garden. And as for a vegetable garden, the idea of a container gardens is fine for her herbs and some leafy greens, “but there is nothing better than a garlic pulled straight from the earth” she says. Even her tomatoes are containerized now, but in very high, raised wooden planters where she is able to till seed and cultivate her garden without bending down to do it.

Val and her tall fragrant lilies

Being able to stand at her vegetable garden encouraged Valerie to take a closer look at vertical gardening. The word ‘trellis’ is seen rather than spoken in this garden. On those trellises are a wide array of annual and perennial vines including clematis, roses, and ornamental spinach, for which she won a local gardening award for this past summer.

But Valerie has one other garden vice that has had to be altered with her inability to bend down easily. Valerie is a prominent and respected member of the local lily society, besides her many other horticultural groups. But lilies are her favourite ‘Ladies of the Garden’. While once her garden was comprised of many varying heights of lilies, she has begun to change them over to taller varieties so that she can enjoy their flowers and addictive perfumes with minimal bending. On my last visit, she had one in bloom that filled the air with a strong smell of jasmine. It was early in the morning and much of the local wildlife hadn’t left their evening residences, yet the flower was covered with butterflies. It is this sort of pleasure that makes Valerie and the other Valeries and Pats that we all know strive and persevere over their disabilities.

To Each Their Own Therapeutic Value

As a member of the tail end of the Baby Boomers myself, I too am finding that the way I garden is beginning to change. The back isn’t what it used to be. So seeing people like Pat and Valerie makes me want to continue gardening, but also help those who are looking for ways that better suit their personal needs. I also look at my father, now in his late 80’s who stills gardens a plot in the traditional way, though it’s half the size of what he used to tend when my mother was still alive and there were us kids running around. A factory worker he was, but gardening has always been in his heart - his passion - and still is.

	A helpful aide can take the pain out of gardening

So it is for these people that I share this knowledge, to let others know that gardening can be as therapeutic as they choose to make it. Though one particular form works for one person, it may not be suitable for everyone. Each person has there own disability, awkwardness, or perceived deficiency in a specific form of gardening. Assessing what is right for the ‘user’ is important.

So in my next instalment I will look at some specific gardening activities that can be accomplished, and the types of people that may benefit from such practices.

So until next time - Happy Gardening!

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