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Kingsmere Retirement residents rediscover or reignite passion for gardening

October 9, 2020   ·   0 Comments

The healing power of a quiet moment in the garden should never be underestimated.

Sowing seeds has many benefits, not only does it uplift one’s mood and decrease loneliness, gardening also increases exposure to vitamin D and provides an enjoyable aerobic exercise, particularly for seniors.

Kingsmere Retirement Residence in Alliston introduced a gardening initiative for its occupants at the start of spring. Since then, it has blossomed into a beautiful and serene sanctuary.

“Many of our residents were farmers or have lived in rural areas like Alliston, so it was only natural to provide a resident garden,” explained Laura Menard, lifestyle consultant at Kingsmere.

In addition to growing tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and corn, which was used in Kingsmere’s kitchen, the residents also tended to a variety of flowers and herbs.

Nine months ago, many of the residents planted all of the seeds for the year and, since then, a dedicated group of five has led the project, tending to the plants.

“It was fun to discover a new passion at my age, I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed gardening but it was an eye opener to me. I realized that I actually really enjoyed poking around in the soil, planting my seeds and watching them grow,” said Annie Robins, a Kingsmere resident who was a newcomer to the activity.

“I liked coming down to the garden every morning; it gave me something to do before breakfast. I’d go out and I’d think ‘oh my goodness, something has sprouted or something’s producing a tomato,’ I really enjoyed it,” she added.

Robins told The Times because of COVID-19, it was nice to have a safe activity like gardening where she could get outside and enjoy some fresh air.

Overall, she said she really enjoyed harvesting the fruits of her labour this year and “discovering the joys of fresh lettuce.”

Robins focused on growing herbs as well, and said she loved tasting them in her soup.

Kingsmere resident Al Bell, who spearheaded the corn crops this year, said it was great to resurrect his green thumb, having last gardened when he owned a home.

“With this, it was just fun to see the corn grow, every day it seemed to be another six inches high,” he said. “At home, you don’t sit around and get to watch the corn grow, so the ability to actually see it from day to day, how it goes – oh we had fun.”

“Also looking for the cobs to develop and watch them grow. They started very small and flourishing, but as the days went on, they just got bigger and bigger,” Bell added.

Six large stalks of corn were grown in total at roughly 10-feet high and next year Bell hopes to plant 50.

He said the corn he’s tried from the garden has been sweet and delicious.

“It was something where you’d say, ‘Oh gosh, I wish we had a whole big patch of it,’” Bell explained.

The gardening group’s vision is to develop a bigger garden with more acreage. They’re also hoping to eventually grow enough produce to host a farmers’ market at the retirement residence.

“We have lots of dreams for sure with this project,” said Menard.

“We’ll definitely be doing this again next year for sure and the [number] of residents that enjoyed, even just watching, from that I’m sure the participation will increase for next year.”

Over the winter there are plans to have residents grow indoor herbs to keep the project going and provide more flavour to their meals.

By Sam Odrowski
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

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