The Teaching Gardens are located behind the Aviary in Churchill Park, Westdale. The gardens were originally built by the RBG Auxillary, but had been suffering from years of neglect. Beginning in the fall of 2010, volunteers donated time and muscle to dismantling what was left of the old Herb Garden and getting the new one in place and partially planted before winter. Hundreds of stones from the ol
d paths and beds were excavated by hand and saved for new garden walls. Useful plants that had not succumbed to years of neglect and invasive weeds were set aside, then cleaned of weeds and planted in the new garden. City crews removed a foot of root infested soil, tilled the new bed areas, and supplied us with the many yards of pathway screenings, landscape cloth, and topsoil that we needed. Their input and support for the project is much appreciated. This season’s goals are to complete the planting, build decorative drystack walls with the stone we removed last year, organize a system of markers for plant identification, and a new sign for the entrance. There is an option of having the plant markers linked to a website which would provide in-depth information about each specimen plant, its current and historical uses and applications both medicinally and culinarily, as well as the fascinating myths, magic, and folklore that are associated with many plants. These developments signal an exciting return of the Teaching Gardens’ original interpretive function, maintaining the gardens original concept as a teaching garden and a place of education. The Teaching Gardens have been part of our community for many years. They were originally established by the RBG Auxiliary to teach children and youth the basics of agriculture through the cultivation of fruit trees, including the espaliered crab apple trees that still survive, and the garden plots which now form the community gardens. With this in mind, the Herb Garden was originally planted mainly with aromatic and culinary specimens, plants that were common in most households many years ago such as Parsley, Rosemary and Sage. Today, there is increased public awareness of the medicinal properties plants as well. John’s Wort, Echinacea, Calendula, and Lavender are becoming common household names and familiar to many people today. We felt that the revitalization of the Herb Garden needed to recognize this new awareness through an expanded mandate, and thus the Apothecary garden was born. Featuring cultivated specimens of culinary, aromatic, and medicinal plants both new and familiar, it can be a valuable educational resource and compliment to the existing food production focus, as well as an educational and symbolic link to the many native medicinal, edible, and aromatic plants found nearby in the Cootes Paradise Nature Sanctuary. Future plans also include the revitalization of the handsome, walled Plant Lover’s Garden, with its ponds and rock gardens, which was a later addition by the RBG Auxiliary to showcase micro-climates, and the rare and unusual plants that thrive under different conditions.
-Dan Riegler
For more information, please contact Dan Riegler at [email protected], or Mary Louise Pigott at [email protected].
