The Glory of Gardening at Wesley Mission Queensland

The bright, sun-flooded upstairs patio of Wesley Mission Queensland Knowles Court aged care community in Sinnamon Park is beginning to look like a jungle. Every week there are more and more pot plants covering every corner – it’s a riot of succulents, aloe vera, spider plants, and potted colour – even the occasional fern. Old Man’s Beard hangs from the upper-most branches of a rather large jade plant. Brian, a resident at Knowles Court, gestures to the jade plant as he walks out onto the patio. “That thing grows like crazy,” he says. “It’s easy to get cuttings from that and pot them up in new pots.”

Brian, along with fellow resident Robert, is getting ready for the weekly ‘gardening club’ morning. Ines, one of Knowles Court’s much-beloved and longest-serving volunteers, bustles around with potting mix, pots, cuttings, and gardening tools. The group gather together around a small table and begin to work. Today their goal is to pot up a collection of cuttings that they will be able to sell at the next Sinnamon Village market day.

The gardening club has been running for almost 9 years. It was started by a former resident, Doug, who had been a keen gardener his whole life. Residents like Brian ,Robert, Sav, Enid & Danica are continuing Doug’s legacy, and it’s because of their green thumbs that the patio is a thriving urban oasis for everyone at Knowles Court.

Ines sorts through the cuttings and passes the best ones to both Robert and Brian, who carefully bed them in soil and line the pots up together in rows. “Gardening is so therapeutic!” she remarks with enthusiasm. Residents and staff passing by on their way to and from the community stop to observe their efforts and have a chat. Brian has been living at Knowles Court for almost 2 years, and has been joining with the gardening club for most of the past year. As they’re working, he tells me that, since moving to Knowles Court, he’s doing things that he’s never done before.

“I was never really interested in gardening, but that’s changed,” he says. “Every Tuesday I come out and water the plants. I prefer to use rain water if I can, because the plants love that more than tap water. And I’m looking after the vegetable garden downstairs now, which is doing pretty well.”

When they’re finally done, 15 new potted plants are lined up together on the patio. Ines loads them onto a trolley for Brian to take to the downstairs garden, where they will bask in the sun and rain until they are ready to be sold.

The downstairs garden is a work in progress, and is growing every day. Brian points out the massive potato vine taking over the garden, cascading over the retaining walls. There’s also tiny little shoots of tomatoes, strawberries, snow peas, capsicum, and chillies, all enjoying the Queensland sun. “We’ve already enjoyed a harvest of potatoes, and some strawberries and tomatoes,” Brian says.

When Brian first arrived at Knowles Court, he wasn’t doing so well.

“For the first 12 months I was here, I didn’t want to know anyone. I didn’t even want to know myself,” he says. “But things are changing. This place is changing me.

“Now, I feel that I’m coping better. My social worker comes every Thursday and I see my therapist once a month. I feel more secure in my life. And that’s thanks to people like Linda here at Knowles Court – she helps me. She tries to keep me sailing straight, even though sometimes I still lose the keel. This morning, I woke up and I didn’t want to know anyone. But I got up to make Linda a cup of coffee, because it’s what I do every morning.”

The Linda that Brian is referring to is Leisure and Lifestyle Coordinator for Knowles Court, Linda Alexander. Linda coordinates a program of activities and events for the residents at Knowles Court, including the gardening club, and she’s one of Brian’s champions. The two make a cheeky pair, always joking with each other no matter what they’re doing.

“In everything we do here at Knowles Court, it’s really important to me that all the residents have the opportunity to find joy and meaning in their day,” says Linda. “Our calendar of events and activities is driven by feedback from residents – what they like to do, and what is important to them. We started the gardening club because one of our past residents, Doug, loved gardening so much. And even though he’s no longer with us, the garden club has continued.

“When I first met Brian, I understood that he was struggling and needed some support – he needed to find some purpose. So I spent some time with him to try and find out what his interests were and what he might enjoy. Even though he’d never done much gardening before, he really took to it and now thanks to him, our veggie patch is growing. And my morning coffee? Well, sometimes when Brian has trouble facing the day, knowing that someone is counting on him helps him to jump that hurdle. We work together and chat in the kitchen, and I think that sense of community, of coming together to help each other, that’s really helped Brian to settle in here.”

With Linda looking on, Brian waters in the new pot plants and sets them up to catch the midday sun.

“I want to get the garden into a good working order, so I come out here a lot to clean it up and organise things” says Brian. “But it’s not just me; I’m only one part of this effort.”

“We’re all part of a team. We’re like a jigsaw puzzle that fits together,” Linda chimes in.

English Poet Alfred Austin once said, ‘the glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul’.

Over the next few weeks and months Brian will continue to nurture the pot plants until they’re ready to be sold at market day, and he’ll continue his work on the veggie patch. The gardening club will also continue to meet every week on the sunny patio, including Brian and Robert and Ines and other residents, and by working together, hands in the dirt, heads in the sun, hearts with nature, Knowles Court’s garden will grow.

Find out more about Wesley Mission Queensland.