Poetry Horticultural Therapy Program
Healing with Horticultural Therapy
The Bergen New Bridge Medical Center’s Long-Term Horticultural Therapy Program’s porches, Greenhouse and outdoor raised beds are bursting with flowers, herbs and veggies this summer. Most of the credit goes to the tireless support, herculean efforts and hours of selfless dedication from our expanded team of Master Gardener Volunteers. We’ve had a decades-long relationship with the Bergen County Master Gardener Program. This group of passionate and knowledgeable horticultural enthusiasts is the helping hands that have built and shaped the program – a thriving horticultural therapeutic program that is available and adapted to benefit all our residents. Horticultural Therapy helps our residents relax and learn in a safe group environment that encourages sociability and curiosity in a healthful, ‘green’ environment – whether in the Greenhouse in Building 6 or the Porches 5-7. This year has been a magnificent one of progress in all things horticultural. Our porches are thriving. We’ve moved many of our regular and large Greenhouse plants to the porches for their “summer” vacation. This year, we installed a timed irrigation system that makes it much easier to water the hundreds of plants in the elevated beds, especially during these hot summer months. On Porch 7, we catch a bit more sun than Porch 5. We have a Mediterranean and Tropical vibe going on here: geraniums, tomatoes, mint, lavender, sage, nasturtiums, small orange and coffee trees — even pineapple plants that we nurtured over the winter in the Greenhouse. Numerous varieties of tropical plants, large and small, help create a lush tropical look. Porch 5 has a more temperate tropical garden feel. Ferns, flowers and lush foliage create a relaxing atmosphere. Outside, our raised bed behind the Gazebo is beginning to overflow with flowers, herbs and vegetables. We’ve followed an informal Cottage-Style Garden filled with herbs: lavender, parsley, sage, basil, borage, scented geraniums and cilantro. Vegetables: tomatoes, cucumbers, Swiss chard, kale and arugula. Flowers: marigolds, coreopsis, Shasta daisies, rudbeckia, gladiola, sunflowers, moonflowers, impatiens, coleus and dahlias, to name a few. There is even a little blueberry bush! Our irrigation system in these beds is a work in progress, but we are getting there. We recently completed an annual scrubbing, disinfecting, mopping and window-washing of the Greenhouse. A greenhouse has to be a clean, pest-free house where our plants can thrive.
We are always planning months ahead for the next event. Our residents progressively propagate cuttings and sprouting seeds for our next home-grown plant sale. The Master Gardeners will be designing and implementing a timed irrigation system so that our baby plants are well-hydrated and grow into beautiful mature plants that will please the eye and help filter the air of toxins. Welcome Master Gardeners Janet Stofkoper, Linda Bourne, Karen Clemmons, and Jeanne Etter. They join our veteran team members: Lynnette Stewart, Rose Santos Martinez and Janet Troy. The LTC residents are your biggest fans. Thank you for your commitment and all you do for the Bergen New Bridge LTC Horticultural Therapy Program.
RESIDENT REFLECTIONS • 2023, ISSUE 2 • PAGE 8 Bergen New Bridge Medical Center • 230 East Ridgewood Avenue • Paramus, NJ 07652 • NewBridgeHealth.org
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