GwB Open House: July 16, 10-4

Salad greens and tomato starts growing this spring in the new greenhouse

Gardens without Borders and Innisfree Farm invite you to an open house on Saturday, July 16, from 10 am to 4 pm, at 3636 Trent Rd. in Royston.

Enjoy an iced herbal tea while wandering through seven acres of vegetable, herb and flower gardens, an orchard, a pond and a woodland walk.

Walk the labyrinth. Visit with the chickens. Learn about Horticulture Therapy or take in a guided medicinal plant walk.

Guided walks:

• Herbs gardens 11 am and 1 pm; 
• Vegetable gardens 12 pm and 2 pm 
• HT activities: 11.30 am and 1.30 pm 

Innisfree Farm is located near the Trent River gorge in Royston. It is a destination farm with a summer season farm stand offering a variety of produce - vegetables, fruit, nuts, flowers, eggs and herbal teas as well as pickles and other farm products.
Innisfree Farm is host to "Gardens without Borders", a non-profit organization dedicated to Horticulture Therapy (HT) and providing healing environments through plants and gardening.

Gardens without Borders offers a Horticulture Therapy day program to people that have disabilities or barriers in society. This summer Gardens without Borders is excited to offer a fourday kids camp for the first time.

Horticulture therapy is a process of harnessing the healing powers of plants in creative ways for individuals in their times of need through improved physical activity, better socialization skills, learning of practical and potentially marketable gardening skills, cognitive and sensory stimulation and sheer pleasure.


The program has a strong emphasis on growing food and providing for the lunch that is offered each day. Daily activities will be individualized and reporting will be conducted as required by referring agencies. HT programs can be tailored to the needs of the individuals or groups participating.

"Using a generic format with the hopes of applying it to everyone interested in doing a HT program does not recognize the diversity the participants bring," says Lisa Hamilton, certified Horticultural Therapist who delivers the programs.

"I like to meet with the person or people first, discover what it is they need and what they want to do, and design a program around them. It is very client-centred. A person in recovery from addiction looking to use Horticultural Therapy as one part of their healing process may have different needs than a group of adults with developmental disabilities who might be looking to enhance their life skills."

Gardens without Borders has a bursary available for people on restricted incomes.

If you or someone you know may be eligible for this program, to apply for the bursary, or to sponsor a participant, please contact Lisa Hamilton, program director, at 250 871 4252