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PWL Stettler gardens give back to residents
who tend them with loving care

September 26th, 2018

The summer of 2018 was a great growing season for the gardens at Points West Living Stettler. Individual residents (or their cottage community), along with family members, take care of each raised bed in the courtyard. They take responsibility for everything from planning to planting and harvesting to fall clean-up.

Inspecting the beds

On September 26, residents Marion McCarty (above left) and Bryan Grey (right), along with recreation coordinator Jenn Dixon braved chilly winds to go out into the courtyard and inspect the beds. “The flowers are just about ready to be cleaned up,” says Jenn. “Marion and I pulled weeds and dead-headed the flowers that had some potential for another flowering.”

So many tomatoes...

“Marion has had a garden all his life to help take care of his big family,” says Jenn. “He says he used to grow 8-9 rows of potatoes, and he had so many tomatoes he would have to give them away. His secret was to use fertilizer sticks on them.”

In his PWL Stettler garden, Marion planted many different flowers. “He likes to experiment with them,” says Jenn. “As you can see by the tall sunflowers, Bryan also loves to experiment,” says Jenn. “He actually had a birdhouse and the seeds that fell onto the soil started growing all by themselves.”

Families get their hands dirty

“Families of our most ardent gardeners like to get their hands dirty as well,” says office administrator Ashley Muhlbach. “It makes everyone’s hearts sing to see the residents so happy to be involved from start to finish with the flowers and vegetables. They are involved in planning, filling the boxes with soil (or at least watching to make sure that care partners are doing it correctly), planting, weeding, watering, and posing for pictures with their creations."

Photo: PWL Stettler resident Marion McCarty (left) deadheads some late flowering petunias while Bryan Grey inspects the other half of the courtyard raised garden bed.

More garden photos, including photos from spring and summer are at Flickr: PWL Stettler gardens give back to residents who tend them with loving care

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