Green fingered care home residents get growing for National Gardening Week

Home news

Apr 27, 2015

Residents at Laurel Dene care home in Hampton Hill got back to their green-fingered roots when they took part in the Royal Horticultural Society’s annual celebration of gardening -National Gardening Week (13-19 April).

As part of the initiative, everyone at Laurel Dene enjoyed getting their hands dirty tending to the care home’s gardens, which back onto Bushy Park - just a stone’s throw from Hampton Hill Pond. Residents worked together in the spring sunshine to complete gardening tasks such as watering budding bulbs, tidying up flower beds, and planting roses and shrubs.

Kathy Harman, home manager at Laurel Dene, explained why getting involved in National Gardening Week was so important to everyone at the care home: “For many residents, gardening has been a lifelong hobby and the care team at Laurel Dene supports the green-fingered among us to continue enjoying these activities. One resident in particular, James Arnold, brought many of his own treasured plants along with him to his new home at Laurel Dene and can be seen tending to them almost every day.

“While spending time outdoors sowing, growing and nurturing the garden is a much-loved pastime for many, soaking up the sights and sounds of the garden – feeling the sun on your face and the soil on your fingertips – can also have numerous benefits for those living with dementia, so we were all very keen to take part in National Gardening Week. It provided us with a great opportunity for residents to work together doing something they all enjoy, and we now look forward to seeing the results of all their hard work over the summer months.”

For further information about the home, please contact customer relations manager, Amanda Speck, by emailing amanda.speck@careuk.com or telephone 0333 4343 049.