finniesgarden

Finnie's Garden

Located on the Riverview Hospital grounds in Coquitlam, B.C., Canada

So YOU want to donate or volunteer at Finnie's ? E-mail us a message

Visit the Finnies Garden Blog for up to date information

Thousands of hours of labor were put into making Finnie's Garden a special place for all to enjoy.

View a MAP of Riverview hospital which shows the location of Finnies Garden, or DOWNLOAD and print your own.

Today with a greatly reduced resident population, community volunteers have stepped in, introducing Naturescape principals into the garden, and rebuilding the infrastructure

The garden features a large collection of Lilacs, along with smaller collections of Peonies, Hostas, perennial and annual flowers, and numerous fruit and nut trees.

The Friends of Finnie's meets at the garden from 9:30A.M. onward, on Thursdays and Sundays,

to continue the task of maintaining the garden as a sanctuary for all.

If you want to give of your time to help us in this goal, just show up, E-Mail a message

Or phone; Norma at: (604) 942-7378

Everybody is welcome, see you there!

The beginnings of the garden

It all started on April,18,1951, when nurse; Arthur,"Art" Brian Finnie, who had previously been asked by Dr.Bruce Bryson to start a garden project.

Originally known as; "Farm View", This 2 acre plot of land located on the higher lands of Riverview Hospital, was a early start at horticultural therapy at the hospital.

The first day, April,18,1951

Return to the MAP or go to the HOME page

About Art Finnie

Art Finnie, at the official dedication of

Finnie's Garden in May,1994.

Dedication plaque

Art Finnie worked on the wards at Riverview for 32 years from 1937 to 1969. In 1951, he received head injuries from a patient who was an ex-boxer, and took 6 months of sick leave at an outside job.

When he returned to Riverview, Mr. Finnie began an early form of therapeutic gardening with a group of mentally handicapped people who were patients at the hospital.

The testimony to the gardening coordinated by Art Finnie is the area now known as Finnie's Garden.

It was all cleared by hand, and patients built many stone walls for the terraces, also by hand. At one time there was a greenhouse and a log cabin.

The stone terraces remain, as does a large stone barbecue, a pond and a shed. The garden is a very special place because of the peacefulness and serenity of the setting and also because of the richness of its history and the evidence of incredible attention and effort which went into its design and construction.

Return to the MAP or go to the HOME page

shed

Storage shed for our garden tools.

Mural by:Gaye Mitchell and Laura Babak-Nagy

Return to the MAP or go to the HOME page

Torii Gate

Torii lead to a place of meditation.

Before

Return to the MAP or go to the HOME page

Washroom

A two stall washroom, with flushing toilets.

Return to the MAP or go to the HOME page

shelter

A popular place to get out of the rain.

The early days

Return to the MAP or go to the HOME page

pond

The pond was built in the early 1950's.

Restored in 2007, by volunteers. Check out the Pond restoration slideshow

Return to the MAP or go to the HOME page

Bowling green

Not used anymore as a bowling green, but a great place for a picnic.

Return to the MAP or go to the HOME page

Children Garden

A touchy, feely place for the kids to play in.

Return to the MAP or go to the HOME page

Scented Garden

This part of the garden contains many scented types of plants.

Return to the MAP or go to the HOME page

Woodland Garden

This garden has been planted with mostly native plants.

Return to the MAP or go to the HOME page

Bird bath

Birds need to take a bath too.

Return to the MAP or go to the HOME page

Pictures from around Finnie's Garden

Return to the MAP or go to the HOME page

over

Return to the MAP or go to the HOME page

Airing Court

This area was used as a outside area where the residents, could get some fresh air, and sunshine.

Return to the MAP or go to the HOME page

Hover

you clicked the O in hover

Return to the MAP or go to the HOME page