The secret garden well worth sharing

The late afternoon autumn sun was turning the mud brick buildings the colour of creamed honey, gilding the floating flowers of guara and lighting up the feathery plumes of ornamental grasses, when I visited the therapy and community garden in Richmond called the Secret Garden and Nursery. It's a secret worth sharing, but first you have to find it. Tucked away on the Hawkesbury Campus of Western Sydney University, no one discovers it by chance.

The garden I'm admiring is relatively new, planted up about two years ago after the operation moved from another part of the campus. Compacted gravel paths wind around organically shaped beds of perennials, grasses, shrubs and small trees. Scented pelargoniums and other plants with fragrant foliage edge many of the beds and release their scent as you brush past. There's a hive-shaped kids cubby and sand play area, large open pavilions with climbers winding up the supports, and a grassy area framed by deciduous trees and overlooked by a rosy bower that's picture-made for weddings. It's inspirational garden design and planting for the region's cold winters and searing summers.

And what you see is what you can buy in the not-for-profit nursery that adjoins the garden. The long-time coordinator of both garden and nursery is Marianne Farrer, and she is also chief propagator, supplying much of the original plant material from her own home garden. The nursery has developed a speciality in salvias, with 80 varieties on the books, although not always in the nursery. There are other hardy perennials and ornamental grasses, shade-loving plants, natives and herbs. "It's not like other nurseries," explains Farrer, "though we try. We never seem to get the time to label and price the plants!"

Getting in the way of nursery efficiency is the Secret Garden's mission as a place of connection and opportunity for a range of variously abled people. Every day 30 to 40 people from community disability services, work for the dole schemes and volunteer programs from Parklea Correctional Facility turn up to work in the garden or nursery, or on the associated activities, alongside a core group of volunteers.

Farrer says she watches people flourish, alongside the plants. "'People are always smiling here," she says. "It's a beautiful place to work." Although it's no secret that gardens make people feel good (and plenty of data to explain how), Farrer still gets a thrill seeing it in action. Even the man who recently arrived scowling about his work for the dole requirements was whistling a few days later as he placed stones for a bench in the garden.

Secret Gardens and Nursery is looking for volunteers of ages and abilities. Contact North West Disability Services, 02 9686 4155.