An enabling, or barrier-free, garden provides a place for physically, mentally and emotionally challenged individuals to experience the rewards and pleasures of gardening in an accessible environment. The CCFPD garden contains raised beds to make gardening easier for people in wheelchairs and others who may have limited mobility and find it difficult to garden at ground level. The garden also provides various sensory stimuli, such as the sound of falling water, the fragrance of herbs, and the feel of cool water and textured surfaces; and there is a shaded arbor for those who are sensitive to heat and sunlight.
Miriam had discovered the healing benefits of gardening as a nurse in World War II England and post-colonial India. Her ensuing passion for gardening brought the Champaign County community numerous things such as the popular Botany Basics school program, a unique Children's Garden, a Blue Star Byway Marker honoring veterans and the Outdoor Learning Center at a nearby high school. She had one more goal before she would rest, and that was to create an enabling garden. Although she didn't get to see the garden actually constructed, she did see the completed plans prior to her death in 1999. Our love for her drove us to finish what she had started.
