Donations come in bunches for local care home garden project

“It was so lovely to receive these from Goslings Farm, they have even included some of my favourite flowers, the gladioli".

Residents of Henley House care home in Ipswich were delighted to receive a large donation of bulbs and seeds from local farm shop and garden centre, Goslings Farm.

The gradual return of warm weather after a lockdown winter could not be more welcome for the residents of Henley House care home, which specialises in residential and dementia care. Keen to get the residents’ green thumbs moving, the activities team at the home harnessed the power of social media to request donations of bulbs and seeds for the residents to plant in the home’s garden, which, after a cold winter, was definitely in need of some extra care and attention.

The activities team at the Greensleeves Care home requested the donations via Facebook, providing a list compiled by the residents naming all their favourite flowers, and what they would like to plant in the garden. However, nobody could have predicted such an overwhelming response from the local community. Family, friends, and neighbours of the home rallied together to donate gardening tools, while local business Goslings Farm kindly donated a huge variety of bulbs, plants, and seeds from sunflowers, to lilies, to gladioli, and everything in between.

Henley House resident, George, said “It was so lovely to receive these from Goslings Farm, they have even included some of my favourite flowers, the gladioli’.

George and his fellow residents cannot wait until it is safe to visit Goslings Farm, in order to thank them in person for their generous donation- proving that community relationships can be fostered even in these socially distanced times.

The health and wellbeing benefits of spending time outdoors are invaluable, and these developments to Henley House’s garden will enable residents to enjoy time outdoors, and also to keep track of the flowers as they bloom throughout the summer.

Lyn Andrews, Administrator at the home, said “Our residents are so excited and grateful to have received these from Goslings Farm, they have kindly donated such a wonderful array of flowers and this has promoted some wonderful memories for our residents when we were looking through them all. We can’t wait to go and pay them a visit them when we are allowed so we can say a big thank you to them, and to all of the relatives that have kindly donated gardening tools.”

The big dig commenced this week, with all hands-on deck to get the bulbs into the ground. The staff and residents are looking forward to showing off their hard work as the flowers bloom and hope to invite people to see for themselves in the not-too-distant future.

Greensleeves Care is a growing and dynamic charitable organisation, which provides highly innovative and award-winning care for older people in its residential, dementia and nursing homes across England.

As an organisation, Greensleeves Care is constantly adapting to meet the needs of older people. The charity has successfully introduced the Eden Alternative approach to care to improve the quality of life for residents at all its care homes. The Eden principles provide a framework to transform traditional approaches to care into the creation of communities where life is worth living and where older people can thrive.

For more information, please contact Ella Cunningham, Communications and Engagement Officer at Greensleeves Care Head Office.