Places of Interest for Aromatherapists:
Hendrie Park Garden at The Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington ON
by Patty Meffe, Certified Aromatherapist
The Royal Botanical Gardens[i] located in Burlington Ontario provides an abundance of things to do and see that can easily fill a whole day. The RBG consists of 5 separate Gardens, as well as many Sanctuaries and Trails. It offers a feast for the eyes, information, places to dine or picnic, an active day of walking or hiking, a relaxing day in nature and an infinite well of pleasures for the spirit.
One of RBGs must see gardens for Aromatherapists is the Hendrie Park Garden[ii]. There are four plant collections in the Hendrie Park Garden that are of special interest to Aromatherapists. These include; The Scented Garden, The Medicinal Garden, The Rose Garden (view video here) and The World of Botany Garden.
The Scented Garden[iii] exhibits both fragrant flowers and plants reminiscent of medieval gardens. You are encouraged to “SCRATCH AND SNIFF”. To smell the leaves of plants, they suggest you brush them gently and then sniff your hand. They provide many interesting facts about scent including this tidbit:
“Why do some plants smell?
Plants produce scent for two reasons. Flower scent attracts animal pollinators, while aromatic foliage, bark and roots repel hungry predators.
Why don’t all plants smell?
Fragrance is unnecessary for flowers pollinated by birds (who have no sense of smell) or by the wind. Some plants also produce scent only when a pollination payoff is likely: moth-pollinated flowers save their strongest scent for evening hours.”
The Medicinal Garden[iv] is divided into 8 plant beds. Each plant bed corresponds to a different part of the body and contains plants recommended to treat a particular physical system. The 8 beds illustrate medicines for cardiovascular, eye, urinary immune, reproductive, respiratory, cancer-fighting and gastrointestinal systems. Each bed provides information on the plants that are helpful for the specified physical system. The RBG also has a virtual museum on their web page called The Healing Power of Plants[v]. This site has a lot of information as well as fun interactive quizzes that you can test your knowledge with.
The Rose Garden[vi] exhibits a huge variety of roses. Be sure to stop by the “Discovery Cart[vii]” located right in front of the rose collection. It displays many uses of roses, including edible recipes and how rose water is distilled. The World of Botany Garden[viii] has arranged its plant beds according to botanical families. Throughout the whole RBG, plants are labelled with their common name, botanical name and botanical family. It’s a great way to test and expand your knowledge of plants and their botanical families.
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