I walked around the Finlay House and enjoyed the beauty of all the flowers and plants. Beautiful roses, petunias, hydrangeas, impatiens, snap dragons, dusty miller, begonias, hibiscus, dahlias, lilies, and ferns. Four residents of Finlay spend many hours every day, every week, cultivating and watering their garden plots. Ardith White, Sheila Frazier, Virginia Boyd, and one resident who didn’t want to be named.
In 2018 residents at Finlay were invited by Kay Knight (office staff) to volunteer in the gardens. They could claim a garden plot and plant whatever they wanted to plant. Ardith White was a new resident, and she decided she could benefit from some garden therapy activity. She volunteered and began her diligent work in the garden.
White grew up in Pennsylvania with a father who loved to cultivate beautiful roses in his gardens. He taught his children to work in vegetable gardens. Now Ardith is constantly adding in new seeds and plants. Her passion is roses, but South Carolina soil and sun do not make for the best roses, she says. I asked what all of this garden work means to her. “It’s very relaxing to work with flowers and listen to what they tell me. All the birds and flowers say, ‘Good morning!’”
Sheila Frazier
Five years later, there is so much beauty to enjoy as we walk around the Finlay House. Frazier keeps adding more plants and flowers to her plot. “It gives me much satisfaction to watch them grow.” This is her first time cultivating flowers outside. She is learning a lot, she says.
Boyd concentrates on vegetables. “I always had a big garden outside my back porch.”
Inside Finlay House, Lena Lewis cares for the plants in the common areas and teaches others to grow beautiful plants. Ruby Macaulay raises beautiful orchids and shares a different one with the front desk every week. Everyone has created so much beauty. They want all the plants and flowers to thrive and show the beauty of nature.
We all know the challenges of forgiving and showing compassion. I believe watching the harmony and beauty of nature helps me to release tensions of hurt feelings, frustrations, and anger. Today again, I walk outside taking in the beauty of the gardens, feeling grateful, and I thank God for this beauty and all the friendships at the Finlay House.
Virginia Boyd
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