Horticultural Therapy Association of Victoria Inc Newsletter - 2014 - Issue 3 Specially designed garden for elderly access in parklands adjoining aged-care centre Spring has sprung and the gardens are looking lush and colourful. It s time to get all those vegetables in for summer/autumn harvesting. Our sensory plant in this issue is the Iris (a great plant for aged care gardens). Also in this issue are articles on the Violet Town Bush Nursing Hospital, the Australian Garden Show in Sydney and highlights from the International Horticultural Congress held in Brisbane. The Congress included a number of conference symposia and an urban garden tour, which visited a school kitchen garden, a retirement centre and the Mount Cootha Botanical gardens. Don t forget the HTAV Conference is on the 14 th November and the therapeutic garden tour visiting aged care facility, community and school garden and the Sunshine Hospital new dementia specific garden is on Thursday, 13 th November, 2014. The Annual General Meeting is to be held on Wednesday 26 th November at 6pm. Best Wishes and happy reading. Paul de la Motte 1
Plants for Sensory and Therapeutic Gardens By Paul de la Motte Common Names: Iris, Blue Flag, Yellow Flag, Bearded Iris Botanical Name: Iris sp. Varieties: Iris ensata Iris pseudacorus Iris versicolor Iris orientalis (some 300 other species) Family: Iridaceae Irises are an incredibly diverse group of herbaceous perennials that grow from corms, bulbs and rhizomes. Depending on the type, Irises grow in a range of conditions. Most prefer a rich well drained soil and are moderately hardy. Some species like the Yellow Flag Iris pseudacorus prefer boggy soil and will even grow in ponds. The Yellow flag is often thought of as the Fleur de Lis. According to legend, King Clovis 1 of France was desperately searching for a Blue Flag (Dutch hybrid) way to cross a river during a battle. Clovis apparently noticed wild Yellow Irises growing in the middle of the river, showing him a shallow way to cross. Clovis picked three irises and put them on his helmet as a symbol for his future victory. Thereafter the kings of France used the fleur de lis as their emblem. Irises vary in height from 30cm to 100cm tall and have different variations of white, blue, yellow, purple and maroon. They make very good rockery and border plants and are popular as cut flowers. They need a sunny position to flower well and are usually propagated through division in Autumn and Winter. Irises are a great addition to any garden but in particular are very popular in aged care settings, adding that touch of seasonal colour and reminiscence. 2
Violet Town Bush Nursing Centre Set in a small town in central Victoria, the Violet Town Bush Nursing Centre is a purpose built facility caring for people requiring specialised dementia care and other related conditions, including people with frailty and those with low care needs. The communal spaces and private bedrooms are designed to allow residents to move, socialise and be cared for in the safest possible manner. The open-design communal spaces have access to landscaped gardens, courtyards and farm paddocks. The residents are encouraged to participate in social, intellectual, recreational and physical activities. The centre also provides day care services for the local community. Courtyard garden at Violet Town Bush Nursing Hospital The centre also provides 'honeymoon suites' for couples wanting to continue living together but supported in privacy. Most rooms have a clear view of the rural environment and farm animals. Enclosure for on-site chickens, ducklings and rabbits. Raised garden beds in dementia-specific garden 3
Australian Garden Show, Centennial Park, Sydney The Australian Garden Show is now in its second year in Sydney. Running over four days in September, the Show displayed new ideas in gardening techniques and design, showcasing spectacular garden displays and a wide variety of lifestyle products. The show had three major themes including gardening, design and wellbeing. Almost 100 exhibitors offered everything from grafting demonstrations, rare plants, vertical gardens, flower bouquets and landscaping supplies to outdoor sculptures, lighting and furniture. There was even a poultry pavilion. While not yet at the scale of the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show in Melbourne, the event looks set to be firmly on the NSW events calendar for years to come. A number of highlights included a children s gardening display area, and a children s garden box scheme. There was also a dementia specific garden. Children s garden at Australian Garden Show - Sydney Display gardens at the Australian Garden Show Box vegetable gardens for children s programs 4
International Horticultural Congress (IHC) Brisbane August 2014 Sometimes referred to as the Horticultural Olympics, the International Horticultural Congress (IHC) is the world s leading international horticultural event. It is conducted every four years in a different country and this year s event was only the second time the IHC has been run in Australia. It consisted of 40 different symposia over 5 days. Topics included People Plant relationships, Landscape design, Horticultural education, Paw Paw research, Berry cultivation, Aromatic and medicinal plants and many more. Congress Opening Ceremony Roma Street Parklands The IHC was attended by over 3200 delegates from 91 different countries. Paul de la Motte presented two scientific papers on horticultural therapy design and perspectives in Australia during the People Plant Symposium. Leading international advocates and practitioners on Horticultural Therapy attended including Diane Relf, Virginia Lohr and Candice Shoemaker from the USA. As part of the Congress a morning breakfast tour was arranged by the Roma Street parklands in the centre of Brisbane. The park had some spectacular displays for their international visitors. Also as part of the Congress, a number of technical tours were arranged. One of these tours included visits to a number of urban gardens around Brisbane including the Mount Cootha botanical gardens, Wheller on the Park aged care centre and a School Kitchen garden at the Mansfield State School. Roma Street Parklands Pacific community stand at Congress 5
Wheller on the Park Retirement Community Wheller on the Park is a retirement complex north of Brisbane in Chermside, operated by Wesley City Mission, a not for profit church based group. Many interests have been catered for throughout the complex, with community gardens, a craft room and The Shed a large lockable workspace where residents can carry out a range of manual activities such as mechanical work and small building projects. The tour was greeted by a large group of resident garden volunteers who also provided morning tea before taking us around the grounds. Lorraine and Val - resident gardeners at Wheller on the Park, Community Garden Activities for children visitors Gardening at Wheller on the Park The residents that we met were keen gardeners who had used their own funds to create their working garden. 6
Mansfield State School Kitchen Garden The final venue for the tour was the kitchen garden at Mansfield State School, a primary school, south of Brisbane. Mansfield State School offers a variety of outside the classroom curriculum opportunities. Students from years 4-7 (currently) are involved in learning in the garden through the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program operating at the school. Children grow, harvest, prepare and eat foods using fresh produce from their market garden. Their garden had a range of different garden bed styles and used the areas close to their kitchen. Some garden beds were in playground areas and they also had some vertical gardens. Afternoon tea consisted of produce prepared from their garden harvests and included a nasturtium leave scroll. The tour participants mingled with the voluteers and some of the students before a short talk about the school and a tour of the garden. Tour participants and students Vertical garden at Mansfield State School Raised garden beds at Mansfield Participants of the tour The tour was very well received by the participants who were almost all from overseas - as far away as Switzerland, Qatar, Germany, Thailand, Taiwan, Colombia, Nigeria, Pakistan, China and Peru. 7
Horticultural Therapy Association of Victoria 2014 State Conference Gardening as Therapy Friday, 14 th November, 2014 Venue: Basscare, Canterbury Centre, 2 Rochester Road, Canterbury, 3126 (near Canterbury Railway station) Program includes - City of Casey's Interactive Gardening Program Cranbourne Botanic Gardens Community Garden project with speakers from Sunshine Hospital, Cultivating Community, aged-care centres and more Therapeutic Garden Bus Tour Thursday, 13 November, 2014 Venues to be visited- Collingwood College Collingwood Community garden Sunshine Geriatric Evaluation and Management Garden Sambell Lodge Aged Care, Clifton Hill HTAV Annual General Meeting Date: Wednesday, 26 th November, 2014 commencing at 6.00pm. Venue: Box Hill Community Arts Centre, 470 Station Street, Box Hill Light refreshments will be provided following the meeting. Please RSVP by 24 th November, 2014 Phone 9836 1128 Mob. 0433 188 836 Email contactus@htav.org.au Horticultural Therapy Association of Victoria PO Box 369, Balwyn North, Vic, 3104 Telephone: (61 3) 9836 1128 Mobile: 0433 188 836 Email: contactus@htav.org.au www.htav.org.au This organisation is supported by financial assistance from the Australian Government and Victorian Government 8