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Edmonton Garden Grows Hope and Recovery
6 Sep
Summary
- Volunteer garden on donated land provided 25,000 pounds of produce last year.
- The garden aids recovery from addiction, offering mental and spiritual nourishment.
- Organizers seek homeowners to donate yards for charitable gardening.
Lady Flower Gardens, a unique volunteer-run initiative on a one-acre plot in northeast Edmonton, has dedicated itself to providing food for the city's less fortunate and aiding local addiction recovery programs. In the past year, the garden successfully donated an impressive 25,000 pounds of fresh produce.
For individuals like Leslie Batonyi, the garden has been a cornerstone of recovery. Batonyi, now 605 days sober, described the experience as profound, offering "mind and soul" nourishment and a "brand new happy place" away from his former city life.
As the garden's founder, Doug Visser, nears 74, the management is adapting. Visser, who initiated the garden nearly 15 years ago, is transitioning care. Managing director Kelly Mills, a dental hygienist by trade, is now looking for homeowners in northeast Edmonton willing to donate portions of their front yards for charitable gardening purposes.
Mills envisions bringing accessible gardening opportunities even closer to recovery programs, allowing more individuals to benefit from the therapeutic and developmental aspects of cultivating plants. Batonyi has pledged his continued support for the garden, regardless of its future form.
