The Green Thumb Club
by Debbie Hommel, ACC/MC/EDU. CTRS
As a new activity assistant, I was lucky enough to work in a nursing home that had a greenhouse. The greenhouse was adjacent to the dining room which gave the residents a direct view into the greenhouse. It was neglected and overgrown when I arrived. One day, my director said, “we need to start a garden club and we need to clean out the greenhouse”. When my director said “we” it meant something I would be doing. I had a few houseplants at home and thought “how hard can this be”.
I recruited George and Eleanor, two residents who sat in the dining room and criticized the appearance of the greenhouse at every meal. They agreed to help me create this Green Thumb Club. After much effort opening the rusty door to the greenhouse, we stood at the entrance purveying the situation. It looked much worse up close than the view from the dining room. George said, “we are going to need a bigger wheelbarrow”. Eleanor, who was living with dementia, began talking about her father and how angry he would be with this mess. We decided to call it a day until we had a plan.
My director asked how the Green Thumb Club was progressing. I relayed the amount of work that needed to be done and she said, “we will figure it out,” meaning I had to figure it out.
Even with the help of George and Eleanor, I realized we needed to FIND SOMEONE WHO KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING. I reached out to the local agricultural center and found some master gardeners to visit our greenhouse and give us advice. They agreed with George that we needed a bigger wheelbarrow and lots of other things. But finding these experts gave us direction. This is a lesson that I carried through my career as an activity professional. It is important to occasionally rely on experts and listening to their advice can contribute to your success.
As we began to implement the plan the master gardeners had suggested, it became apparent that a 25-year-old activity assistant and two eighty-year-old nursing home residents needed more manpower to clean out the greenhouse. We decided to ASK FOR HELP. Most staff were too busy, and the rest of the residents said they preferred watching us from the dining room. I reached out to local youth groups and found a girl scout troop that wanted to work on a gardening badge. In a couple of weekends, the greenhouse was cleaned out and re-organized. This was another lesson that guided my career as an activity professional. We cannot do it all by ourselves. If you never ask, the answer will always be no.
Our first planting in the greenhouse was an exciting day. We had taken a group of residents to the local garden center, and it was a collaborative decision as to what to plant. We were in the midst of planting annuals such as marigolds. Most were in full bloom and my vision was the greenhouse would be an immediate flower garden when we were done planting. It was a hot day and I thought I should go get some water to drink. I knew George and Eleanor would be safe as I could see them from the dining room window as I ran to get the water. I came back quickly and when I walked into the greenhouse, I saw that Eleanor had snipped the flowers and branches off all the marigolds. We now had a garden of marigold stems. She saw the speechless horror on my face as I saw what she had done. “They will grow back,” she said. And sure enough, eventually they did grow back and more beautifully than the original plants. That became our mantra for the green house when things were not going well. THEY WILL GROW BACK. We learned plants were very forgiving.
The Green Thumb Club evolved through the years. We had some good years and less good years, but the greenhouse connected us all. The participants changed over time, but we always had helpers, advisors, and critics. No one was turned away. We would take in sick houseplants and bring them back to life. We introduced a Green Thumb Cart which went room to room delivering cuttings from the many plants we started in the greenhouse. Every spring, we shared the optimism of a new planting year and what that would bring. One final lesson learned from the Green Thumb Club was to ENJOY THE FRUITS OF YOUR LABOR. Whether it be making flower arrangements for the dining room tables or enjoying a salad from the vegetable section of the greenhouse or just enjoying the view from the dining room – it was always a joyful celebration to reap what we had sown.
Check out more blog articles on gardening programs.
Springing Forward with Gardening Programs | DH Special Services
“Spring time is Garden time” is an article about developing horticulture programs with the elderly. | DH Special Services
Check out 6.5 hour continuing education program.
Gardening as a Therapeutic Approach NCCAP Pre-approved Independent study
Check out Horticulture Therapy Resources
Horticulture Therapy Resources | DH Special Services