(Ben Tompkins/northeastNOW)

By Ben Tompkins

Mature Ladies Group

Melfort Secret Garden holds official unveiling

Jun 29, 2023 | 4:53 PM

The Mature Ladies Group (MLG) recently hosted an acknowledgement and celebration get-together to honour the completed work of the Melfort Secret Garden.

City officials and workers, those who have made donations, and the group themselves were all in attendance to unveil the space and be a part of the official grand opening.

The project began in 2019 after a large mural was created on the side of the Home Hardware building by local artist, Linsey Levendall.

“So there was never anything in this property before, then this mural shows up and we realized it was a pretty hostile environment,” said MLG member, Donna Ponath. “So we put together a design plan, and we trotted around to various organizations and they helped us out.”

Before, the area was mostly a gravel and dirt patch and the mural couldn’t properly be enjoyed.

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Now, there are lights, grass, benches, flowers, a cobblestone stage, trees and a garden, which gives the Secret Garden a completely new feel.

“I think it gives you a tranquil space in the middle of downtown, it’s quite private and it’s been very well respected. There hasn’t been anything that’s been bad in here, we put the barriers up, just so people couldn’t drive through, and it’s just turned into a tranquil little piece of paradise,” added Ponath.

MLG had held many fundraisers to push the project through, asking many for their time, resources, and support.

The group describes itself as a bunch of enterprising older women that get together and like to do things for the community.’

“There’s about seven of us that banded together, and instead of buying each other birthday presents, we thought we’d do something important and start doing something for the city,” Ponath explained.

(Ben Tompkins/northeastNOW)

As for Levendall, he had done a ton of previous work across the country, but never in Melfort.

For him, the invitation to collaborate on such a project meant a lot, and his vision has come together.

“When I envisioned it, it was about kind of reinvigorating this whole space. To actually see it come together, it’s an amazing thing because usually, you don’t get all those things that tie in together, where the vision actually plays out exactly the way that you envisioned it. It’s been amazing to actually see it exactly the way that we tried to plan it from the start.”

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