Beginning Feb 12th on VisionTV is a very well-meaning documentary, Ageless Gardens. This five-part series looks at the role of tending to a garden, be it to grow for food or to pretty a front lawn, can affect anyone on many levels. Whether that’s in to stay physically or mentally healthy, to avoid expensive trips to the grocery or to take up as a hobby, the results from the people who tend to them are many. When my doctor is surprised at how well my mom is doing at her age, I said that’s because she’s outside tending to our garden. He responded I should still keep an eye on her but keep at it!

To hear director, producer and cinematographer Ian Toews (Bugs on the Menu) created this series to show that the elderly do not have to be put in care homes. They can be engaged in an outdoor activity from their own comfort zone. For those who can’t move around as much, sons, daughters or special care nurses are around to help as the episode “Therapeutic Gardens” demonstrated. This series feels very personal. He’s spreading the word to encourage others to get off the couch and explore what the outdoors can do to anyone, at any age. This show is intended for the older generation to watch, but even kids like me need hard knocks too.

Not only did he tell his son this, but also he’s letting viewers know how to make their own garden of Eden or find their fountain of life. Healthy living is what this show is about.

Some of the information is nothing new to those who practice Traditional Chinese Medicine or are Hedge Witches. Aboriginals have always cultivated and worked with the land. Though, for those generations who have not learned from their grandparents, this series is a great primer so further exploration can be made.

Toews best summarizes the relationship man has with nature: “Having our hands in the dirt and breathing the air around fresh soil is one of the world’s best-kept secrets for health and longevity.”

Most of the stories come from various parts of British Columbia and deep in Toronto. An emphasis on Vancouver Island is treated with great precision. The beaches of Sooke are like collectors to everything the ocean can push in. Frequently mentioned is the fact the further away you are from industry and pollution, the better your chances are for interacting with Nature and her bounty at her best. Whether that’s with foraging for food or just reigniting your soul by being in the presence of almighty, even tending to a simple dirt box on a rooftop to grow your own tomatoes can feel therapeutic.

The episode “The Wild Garden” is not only very effective in encouraging me to get back to learning how to find mushrooms in Blenkinsop Valley but also take up gardening too. I never liked the taste of certain fruits and vegetables I buy from the market, especially from Walmart (I hate buying from there but my mother loves it). Heirloom tomatoes are pricey. While mum has to cook everything until it’s very soft so she can eat them, I prefer much of my fruit and vegetable intake crisp and raw, as evolutionally intended when we evolved from apes more than a millennium ago.

For more information and to find special online episodes, please visit AgelessGardens.ca

Episode Broadcast Guide

Healing Plants
Monday, February 12 at 9 pm ET

Therapeutic Gardens
Monday, February 19 at 9 pm ET

The Wild Garden
Monday, February 26 at 9 pm ET

Gardens Grow Community 
Monday, March 5 at 9 pm ET

Adaptive Gardening
Monday, March 12 at 9 pm ET