Green Oases in Nursing Homes?

If you've spent any time at all in nursing homes, you could come home thinking... "I'm glad I don't live there." Why? Is it loss of personal freedom, fear of ageing, disease, poor overall health, sharing a room with someone you don't know, or dying? Oh, I see... all of the above...!

For the majority of us, we could (and will) find ourselves in need of others' care at some point in our lives. That doesn't have to be a bad thing. In fact, over the many years I've worked in lots of nursing homes (as a provider of therapeutic music and therapy dogs), I find the cameraderie between patients, staff and visitors enjoyable. I see how residents care for each other in quiet ways. Staff get to know the residents and find they become 'family.'

The caring that goes on is admirable, but the institutional look of most nursing homes leaves a lot to be desired. On that note, here's a suggestion for creating a 'green oasis.'


Going to a quiet, natural place is rejuvenating and relaxing. Ever been to a Flower Show in late February or March? Sure, there may be hordes of people, but somehow you're still able to experience the sense of being in a garden, with all the possibilities that brings to your imagination.

Plants do something else for people, too. They clean the air of pollutants and chemicals. Some very common houseplants can do a good job at cleaning up formaldehyde, benzene and carbon monoxide. Plants like Aloe, Spider plant, Corn plant, Philodendren, English Ivy, and the Peace Lily all clean one of those three pollutants from the air.


So imagine this: you and some friends decide to create a small garden (just potted plants and a chair or two) in an area of a nursing home that could really benefit from your volunteerism. Imagine this being, perhaps, the project of a Garden Club, or a Girl Scout Troop, or a 4-H Club.
Or just one, maybe two, people who think..."what could I do that might help my corner of the world?"

And suddenly, you've begun to make a difference. In ways you can't even imagine.