Sunrise Group Enjoys Garden Tour & Picnic

Sunday morning, August 9th, I left early the “Giving Back to Caregivers” weekend retreat at Adelynrood (a retreat center up the road), to prepare with Karl our gardens for our monthly Sunday Stroll and Memory Café. We expected (thanks to our guests RSVPing) a total of two parties: two friends from our local faith family, and one group of twelve from Sunrise Assisted Living’s Reminiscence Neighborhood, based in Arlington, MA. Joining our hospitality team this day were two volunteers, Marc and Jean.

Once everyone was out of the van, gathered in the driveway, with name tags and programs, we moved towards the giant hydrangea for a group photo before the garden tour. Special thanks to our church friends, Joan and Paula, for their help taking the group photos! After photos, the group turned to view the gardens created in the space that seven years ago was wilderness. I shared a short background about our own dementia-caregiving experience with my mom, who used a wheelchair her last twelve months of life, and our subsequent survivor’s mission to create accessible gardens for our community, for as long as we are blessed to live here.

As we walked and wheeled together the MargFMac Front Garden Loop (0.1 mile), I facilitated their experience of globe thistle-tips soft-to-touch, fragrant roses, towering sunflowers, Macintosh apples turning now from green to red, pears growing sweeter each day (and our challenge to pick ’em before the deer eat ’em), and red raspberry samples. When we reached the cool Cedar Grove and Tunnel, I shared a bit about how we build our gardens and our process of clearing wilderness, preparing the soil, and planting seeds, seedlings, and small plants. The tour ended with the group feeding the colorful koi and goldfish, with some sitting and listening to the waterfall.

The group picnicked on the North Lawn, enjoying a view of the front gardens. Some people spoke about their memories of favorite gardens in Lexington, MA and Central Park in New York City. After eating their sandwiches with chips, group members strolled freely around the gardens exploring areas of interest. We invited everyone to sign our guest book before they left.

After the three-hour Sunday Stroll and Memory Café, Karl and I rested in our zero-gravity commander’s chairs, overlooking the space where hospitality happened. Enjoying a rare jelly donut with coffee (my mom Margaret’s favorite), we were very happy to have provided again a rest-stop for friends on a long-term-care journey.
Moving forward with a listening heart,
vision, inquiry, and action,
~ Mary
P.S. Our Memory Café program, started just this past Mother’s Day, in May, and continues through October, once-a-month. We welcome one dementia-care facility group and nine 24/7 dementia-care-at-home duos (dementia-care-partner and dementia-care-receiver) per Memory Café date, reflecting the reality that eighty percent of long-term dementia-care is provided by family members at home.
Learn more about our Memory Café program >