Bulwell community gets green-fingered with care home residents

Gardens in Bloom encourages residents, care teams and the local community to work together to create wonderful outside spaces for everyone to enjoy.

A group at Ideal Carehomes’ Fairway View Care Home, on Swale Close, planted flowers, raked leaves, pruned hedges and even gave the raised flower beds a fresh coat of paint.

Resident Beryl Bradley, aged 94, said: “I used to love spending time in my garden at home, so it’s been lovely to get my hands dirty again. The children have been so helpful too, they worked really hard.’

Fellow resident Selwyn King, 80, said: “I was always making something at home, and I did all the decorating, so I’ve really enjoyed painting the raised flower beds.”

He said he especially enjoyed spending time with seven-year-old visitor Scarlett, who came to help with her mum, Heidi Duffy, who works at the home.

Selwyn said: “Scarlett has been a great help painting the bits I can’t reach – we had a really good chat while we worked.”

When the gardening was done, the kitchen team at Fairway View treated everyone to hot drinks and homemade cakes, as a thank you for all they had done.

Sarah Barnes, home manager, said: “We had a brilliant turn out on the day. So many people came to help us get the garden in shape for spring. It was lovely to see the residents interacting with everyone and working as a team. The garden looks amazing, and the cakes went down a storm.”

If you would like to donate gardening supplies or your time to Fairway View for Gardens in Bloom, call the home on 0115 975 8770, or email [email protected]

To find out more about Gardens in Bloom, see idealcarehomes.co.uk/gardens-in-bloom

Fairway View is a residential and dementia care home operated by Ideal Carehomes. With 41 ensuite bedrooms, attractive décor and freely accessible gardens, Fairway View is proud to be rated outstanding by the Care Quality Commission health watchdog.