Growing together is at the very core of who we are and is centered around what we do here at The Potting Shed group.
The group has grown significantly from roughly 6 members in January 2022 to 21 today.
We mention The Potting Shed Group to those considering moving into the Village and we encourage residents that live on their own or who have lost partners to join the group. You don’t need any gardening experience as our activities can be done by anyone… it’s a bonus if members have ‘green fingers’.
Our members are always learning. Some tasks are repetitive because of seasonal needs, but there’s plenty of new activities to inspire creativity. We recently dried lemon verbena, mint and rosemary and a variety of other herbs which will be used to make refreshing iced teas and for cooking . We plant seeds, propagate plants, arrange flowers, the list goes on.
The group came about when our Head Gardener, Debbie Condron, saw a need for gardening activities that would bring likeminded residents together to enjoy companionship, physical activity, creativity, and boost self-confidence. Research shows that simply looking at plants reduces stress, anger, and sadness and short walks in gardens are proven to improve mental health. Horticulture therapy is used in many countries for exactly these purposes so Debbie enrolled on a specialist course so she could develop the group further.
Gardening is often a solitary activity but by bringing our residents together, they feel connected and less isolated. We often have working bees in the Pavilion veggie garden, and some of the group help each other with their own gardens (see picture below of Misty & Michael working together in Misty’s Garden)
A lot of the activities we so, such as planting hanging basket, creating boxes and floral arrangements for parties also benefit our Care Facility residents (the group also sold plants at the Spring carnival and the funds raised were used towards purchasing pressure relieving mattresses).
The Potting Shed Group continues to make a real difference to all of our residents. In the future, we’d love have an allotment so that our more physically active members could do things like hoeing, digging and harvesting produce… we just need to find some more space.
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