Secret Zen Peace GardenAn index finger of industrial rubble jabs five kilometers into Lake Ontario from Toronto's derelict portlands. Over the decades nature has established herself. Stands of cottonwood poplar shadow fields of wildflowers and weeds. Everywhere vines and leaves poke through a post-apocalyptic crust. Delicate yellow flowers assert themselves in crannies along the crumbling asphalt verge of the dump truck roads. The Leslie Street Spit has become a major stopover for thousands of migrating flocks. Swans swim in sepia lagoons. Furry brown things scurry into burrows beneath crabapple trees. Hawks soar, hunting the furry things. Humans, too, seek refuge and renewal by harmonizing with nature's resilience. For visionaries like Zen gardener, Brian Pace, the Spit was ready for the creation of a peace garden. A Zen inspired garden where children of all ages can playfully construct and destruct with the detritus of old buildings to create a sacred space among the flowering weeds.
postscript: the initial Zen garden was torn apart by 'the authorities' shortly after its creation by dozens of enthusiasts. But nature, and mankind, are too strong to not persevere, and the Zen garden is magically renewing itself. by cricket (Chris Faiers, November 2009) |