Willows Estate family council members plant outdoor garden
Thursday, June 28, 2007 -- Deron Hamel
Thanks to the efforts of family council members and their families, residents at Willows Estate long-term care home in Aurora are enjoying a refurbished garden alongside the home’s outdoor walkway.

On June 23, several volunteers took advantage of sunny weather to plant trees and two new perennial flower beds to beautify the area. Just two days after the job was completed, the home’s staff is hearing positive feedback.

“The residents just love it,” says Teddy Mazzuca, Willows Estate’s life enrichment co-ordinator. “They really did a terrific job.”

Some residents enjoy the area’s new look so much it’s hard to get them back inside.

“There was a couple today who were out there and they said ‘We just hate to go in now, because it’s so beautiful,’” says Mazzuca.

After a few hours of work, the volunteers managed to turn an eyesore into a beautiful piece of landscape.

“(The area) was bland and it needed to be fixed, so we (built) some flower gardens because we had none,” says Mazzuca.

The home’s family council members wanted to do something to improve the area around the walkway. Members put up a notice explaining their plan and soon they were getting donations of flowers.

All other costs were covered by the council’s fund.

One of the flower beds in located in the centre of the home’s outdoor pathway. The other flower bed circles the home’s gazebo.

Volunteers also furnished the area with a solar-powered water fountain which spouts water into the air.

Mazzuca says this type of landscaping is important to residents, adding it makes the area look like a backyard and gives it a homey feel.

“Every single resident can enjoy it, and when their family members come to visit they can go outside and have tea (or) have a picnic lunch for them,” says Mazzuca. “Visually it’s appealing for them.”