Re: Indoor garden at seniors residence

**"bbmackey" b*@prodigy.net**

There are several ways for Donna's correspondent to look for help with her
project. A good place to begin is with the American Horticultural Therapy
Association, which provides a wealth of information and ideas. Here is a
link to their list of books on the subject.
http://www.ahta.org/ahta-cgi-bin/browse?category=books

As garden writers, this is a reminder that doing reviews of useful books
like these is a public service and also interesting to readers because it
isn't just more of the same.

For immediate help in this instance, this lady might find other another
senior in the same facility who is less able physically than she but more
knowledgeable about indoor plants -- it would do them both a lot of good to
work together on the Floral Room. She should line up a few more assistants
to help with the watering, if possible, making it more of a social event.

Dan's interiorscape idea is great.

Also there may be community organizations such as garden clubs who would be
willing to help. Horticultural societies and reference librarians can
usually locate the contact people or officers.

Another impression I have is that the room may need additional lighting,
shelving, some seating, and a potting table to make it more inviting. Most
of the expiring plant donations and especially the soil they are planted in
should be discarded to keep them from spreading diseases and pests. Some of
the plants may recover if they are cleaned, trimmed, and repotted in clean
containers and soil.

A friend of mine, Gwynne Ormsby, is a horticultural therapist and holds an
annual African Violet Flower Show (with coveted blue ribbons) at the
facility where she works, Barclay Friends, in Pennsylvania. The show is fun
and competition is fierce because almost everyone there has a plant to
enter, or can get one.

-- Betty Mackey

www.mackeybooks.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Donna Dawson" <donna@icangarden.com>

> Good morning, I am in need of help...received this email and I know there
is
> someone out there that can provide some assistance...perhaps a website or
> two?
>
> Donna,I would like to know if you can recommend a good source to obtain
> knowledge  (help ! ) to change an indoor garden. >
> Now, due to the move of the "Floral Room" caretaker to that "great garden
in
> the sky", I have been asked to look after the indoor watering at our
> residence. My problems are :-
>
> 1.. No experience of indoor plants --beyond a few African Violets --
> 2.. The "Flora" room is an obvious graveyard for plants "donated" by
> relatives of "dear departed", these are invariably un-named,overgrown and
> unhealthy.( the plants :-) )
> 3.. The aprox.  11ft.x11ft.room faces west, has a large area of double
> glazed windows, fluorescent lighting, and electric heating.
> 4.. Few visitors because of the grubby, depressing atmosphere.
> 5.. "Watering" alone is not going to improve the existing situation.
> http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters

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