During an early meeting with the experienced lifestyle and clinical care teams, Rosemary was asked what activities she enjoyed and what activities she would like to be involved in.
Rosemary expressed that she had always been a very keen gardener and that she would like to be involved in a Gardening Club. The upstairs balcony was the perfect spot for a new garden and Rosemary and Suzi were the first residents to form the new Gardening Club. All residents of the home are invited to join in and many residents enjoy the time on the lush and abundant balcony.
The Garden Club meets two times a week and the Club are very proud of the greenery – ‘We have green on the table tops, plus we are growing spinach, broccoli and strawberries’ says Rosemary.
‘I love gardening and I love to grow food, I’ve always had fruit trees, I would grow everything I could, and I use to enjoy sharing my produce with friends and neighbours, I would always give them a bag of apples or lemons when they came to visit’.
Rosemary grows an assortment of herbs including parsley and coriander which she likes to add to her meal.
‘Our garden is organic, no chemicals, no sprays’ she says.
Rosemary is very proud of her garden and likes to bring her visitors out onto the balcony. The plants are alive and growing which makes her feel happy. She is a firm believer that talking to your plants makes them grow better.
‘It’s good to get out in the fresh air and to watch the garden come to life. We’ve planted an assortment of flowers to add a pop of colour to the space, we enjoy the bloom of the poppies, daffodils and geraniums’.
Rosemary’s gardening tip ‘Watering is the biggest key to making the garden grow, especially as the wind is so drying’.
The Gardening Club has enriched the lives of not only Rosemary and Suzi by keeping them active but also enhanced the balcony for residents and their visitors.
