Monmouthshire Care Home Launches New Garden Club ‘Sunshine and Soil’

Gibraltar Nursing Home in Monmouthshire has brought springtime indoors with the launch of its new gardening club, Sunshine and Soil. Created by team members Tracy and Jane, the club brings together family members (residents) with sessions held every Thursday.

The group is currently mobile, with a trolley filled with soil, seeds and pots taken to a different household in the home each week, encouraging family members to try out a bit of gardening without needing to leave the comfort of their own surroundings. Gibraltar has six different households according to the needs of their family members, Beech, Fernlea, Meadow, Riverleigh, Oakleigh and Poplar.

While the sessions move around the home, they remain open to everyone, with all encouraged to join in wherever they feel most comfortable. As the weather improves, the club will begin to spend more time outside, making use of the home’s gardening area, which includes a potting shed, flower beds and vegetable borders.

The club was inspired by the idea of bringing the outdoors into the home and having plants and seedlings on windowsills all year round, creating spaces full of colour and scent for family members to enjoy.

Beech House Lead, Jane, shared, “Getting involved in activities like this can give people a sense of purpose. There’s something meaningful in sowing seeds and watching them grow and bloom – something many people will recognise from raising children or spending time with grandchildren. There’s also a real sense of satisfaction when spaces come to life — picking flowers, harvesting vegetables, or tasting something fresh from the garden.”

The group has already planted a range of flowers and recently potted up daffodils for St David’s Day. Their next goal is to grow a sunflower for every person living in the home, on their windowsills. Team members are also taking part, with a friendly competition underway to see whose sunflower grows the tallest by summer!

Jane shared further, “Gardens and gardening can be so good for mental and emotional wellbeing – the smell and feel of the compost, and the practice of focus and dexterity to fill the pots with just the right amount of compost can help to hold onto skills that may not be as strong as they once were. And when it’s warmer, just being outside in the fresh air and sun, listening to the birds singing, and watching butterflies and bees flitting from flower to flower, can give such a wonderful sense of wellbeing.”

The club has quickly become a much-loved part of life in the home, with many family members choosing to take part. Each session finishes with tea and biscuits, offering a chance to sit together after time spent planting.

Sunshine and Soil are currently selling outdoor plants and houseplants at the front of the home, with funds going back into the club to further support the purchase of a variety of seeds, plants and gardening equipment.

To find out more about activities at Gibraltar Nursing Home, visit: https://www.gibraltarnursinghome.com/activities-in-care/

click here for more details or to contact Gibraltar Nursing Home