Back To The Garden

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As we begin our summer season on Tapestry, we re-broadcast one of our favourite programs from past years. Back to the Garden examines the connection between gardens and spirituality. Why is the garden such a potent symbol in so many religious traditions? Is this some archetypal Paradise calling us back? Or do we all just need to get out and feel the earth between our fingers?

We'll hear from landscape architects and religious scholars. We'll meet Fariborz Sahba, the architect who designed the Baha'i garden in Haifa. It's been compared to the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Gardener Marjorie Harris will talk about her garden - her cathedral - as she calls it. Stephen Scharper, an assistant professor of religious ethics and environmental studies at the University of Toronto, says the urge to get back to the garden is primal in human beings; at its root is a longing to choose life.

We would like to dedicate this program to a Tapestry listener, Cathy Parker. Cathy had been living with a brain tumour for eight years, and she liked it when people thought out loud about some of the big questions - 'Why ARE we here anyway?' ... 'What IS the point of all this' and - 'What do you think happens next?') We're told that Cathy's favourite Tapestry episode was this one - Back to the Garden. Cathy had just turned 54 when she died on a sunny, breezy day in May. The mother of 3 great kids, the partner of one great guy -- an artist, a teacher -- and a lover of the garden. Cathy Parker, this one was for you. -- Mary Hynes.