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Press Releases
The Healing Gardens
republished from March 26, 2001 issue of the
Brainerd Daily Dispatch
JODIE TWEED, Staff Writer
Bethany to construct $65,000 garden for residents, staff members, visitors
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It's an ambitious project, but construction of the first few phases of The Healing Gardens of Bethany Good Samaritan Village in Brainerd will begin this spring, paid for entirely by donations. The entire project, which includes pathways, water gardens, a gazebo and a greenhouse/conservatory is expected to cost about $65,000. Daniel Dix of WoodSpirit Water Gardens in Backus is constructing the project.
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When many residents first enter a nursing home, they're often confused and angry, upset that they've had to leave their homes and most belongings behind. Some arrive straight from the hospital, often on a stretcher via an ambulance.
Imagine a facility where nursing home residents could replant their favorite rose plant or begonias -- a place where they're encouraged to cultivate their own vegetable gardens and walk alone in a secluded but safe mini-forest surrounded by the sounds of rushing water. And during the winter, residents could take in the warm, musty smell of summer in the comfort of a sunny greenhouse.
While it may seem like an ambitious project, The Healing Gardens of Bethany Good Samaritan Village in Brainerd is set to begin construction this spring. The garden will be built inside the facility's undeveloped courtyard and will be completed in several stages, funded completely by donations to the project, said Lois Lahr, Bethany community relations director.
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Daniel Dix, owner of WoodSpirit Water Gardens in Backus, created the preliminary design of the proposed garden in consultation with Dr. Dale Hadland, a family practice physician and master gardener in Brainerd who is a Bethany advocate. Both men attended a workshop on how gardens can enhance people's lives and help them recover more quickly from injury and disease. The workshop helped them to design the proposed garden specifically for the elderly and their visitors.
The project, which will cost about $65,000, will include a large water garden with running water and colorful fish, several "pocket" gardens that will give the feeling of being secluded, including additional fountains, natural-looking pathways, bird feeders, wooden boxes of vegetable gardens, outdoor lights, a personal gardening area for residents and a variety of other gardens. Natural and native plantings will be used to evoke memories, providing a feeling of familiarity and comfort.
So far $15,000 has been raised.
Bethany staff members are hoping that master gardeners will help them tend to the garden, and that donors will volunteer to finance benches or specific gardens in memory of their loved ones. One family has already adopted the meditative garden area.
The final stages in the project are the construction of a potting shed in which volunteer master gardeners could work and store equipment and a greenhouse/conservatory that would allow residents to enjoy the garden atmosphere, even in the winter.
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For dementia and Alzheimer's patients, a common condition is the urge to walk or pace, said Bethany Chaplain Lilja Behr. Right now these residents at Bethany are confined to a locked unit, allowed to pace in only a few small areas, including an outdoor patio area. The enclosed garden will increase the square footage of open area available to them by 98 percent and will provide them with a more mentally stimulating environment to walk safely, said Behr.
The raised water garden will be tall enough so residents in wheelchairs could run their fingers through the flowing water. They will be encouraged to bring in a plant from their own gardens that they can cultivate if they wish. Families can adopt certain areas of the garden and tend to them in memory of a loved one. A small area will be used by staff members where they can take a mental break from the physically and mentally demanding work they do. It's a place where they could replenish their spirits, said Behr.
The garden, said Behr, will give visitors a peaceful place to walk around when they visit their loved ones.
Most of the current courtyard is a grassy area that isn't used. One portion has cement sidewalks but they end near the halfway point in the middle of the courtyard.
"We're ready to go on the basics," said Behr. "A lot of our residents are gardeners or farmers. A plant, in many ways, can give you a reason to live."
To give a tax-deductible donation to The Healing Gardens at Bethany Good Samaritan Village or to find out more information, call the facility at 829-1407 or write to Lois Lahr, community relations director, at 804 Wright St., Brainerd, MN 56401.
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