#IDPwD: Is your garden accessible to everyone? | Discovery | Gardening Australia

This garden has been thoughtfully designed to be accessible to all, from the hard, flat paths to raised garden beds. Subscribe 🔔

December 3 is the United Nations' International Day for People with Disability (IDPwD), a day to increase awareness, understanding, and acceptance of people with disability. With more than 4 million Australians living with disability, having just one day to explore the range of stories from all over the country is just not enough.

The ABC is partnering with International Day of People with Disability (www.abc.net.au/idpwd) in a three-week campaign to showcase a range of stories by and about people with disability across ABC websites, radio, social media, TV, and iview.

Secret Garden was established to help people with mixed abilities. It is a hub for the local community and is run by North West Disability Services. Nursery Manager Marianne Farrar says their aim is to “provide skills, fun and learning activities for people of all abilities. From horticultural therapy programs right through to the kitchen and café, and the candle making and Mate’s Shed – there’s just so much for people to choose from. It’s a really special place and I just love seeing the smiles on everybody’s faces that come here, they just gain so much.”

Secret Garden is self-funded, not-for-profit so nursery sales are vital to continued success. The garden is located at the University of Western Sydney’s Hawkesbury campus and spans across 15 acres.

Having Asperger’s Syndrome, Travis found it difficult to get along with people his own age and he says “this place has taught me how I could be part of the community, by getting involved with plants and helping people choose plants in the nursery and also looking after other people with a disability … I get to help people learn how to propagate plants or touch the soil or flourish in their own little way – flourish in the way I did when I came to the garden.”

Among the plants on sale are around 30 varieties of salvia, grown under the watchful eye of Travis Darroch. A few favourites include the tall growing Fuzzy Bolivian Sage with large pink flowers, Salvia ‘Hot Lips’ with bright red blooms tolerant of drought, and Salvia ‘Joan’ an upright, tall variety with magenta flowers that attract pollinators.

Whilst the nursery does a roaring trade, propagating and selling a wide range of plants, it’s the opportunities for people that makes it a truly special place.

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Gardening Australia is an ABC TV program providing gardening know-how and inspiration. Presented by Australia's leading horticultural experts, Gardening Australia is a valuable resource to all gardeners through the television program, the magazine, books, DVDs and extensive online content.

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