At Posy Ferme Florale in Montreal’s Verdun, rows of flowers are blooming, and some are being cut and arranged into bouquets.
The workers behind the urban cut-flower and green care farm are adults with intellectual disabilities.
“We are giving skill and vocational training and employment and most importantly a sense of belonging and community to adults with intellectual disabilities who have aged out of the school system and are looking to find their own place in our community,” says Lucie Wade, founder of Posy Ferme Florale.
From flowers for bouquets to events like weddings and birthdays, gardening was always part of Wade’s life – through her grandmother and mother – but she took a few career paths like being a marine biologist and medical ethicists before renting this space at NGO Grand Potager.
Her ultimate inspiration for starting Posy though was her older brother, who has an intellectual disability.
“I have always seen him exist in the world and see how beautiful his interactions with people could be and also how heartbreaking his experience could be when people don’t meet him with the same grace and openness that he always brings to the conversation,” Wade says.
A pilot project at their parent’s home grew into launching the Fleurish program last year.
Posy employs adults with intellectual disabilities, who not only develop employment skills but also find community and a work environment suited to them.
“The opportunity to work with their hands and be outdoors and you learn independence; you learn how to be self-sufficient,” says Elana Warshawsky, an occupational therapy student who works at the farm.
