As summer rapidly approaches, vibrant life begins popping up around all Phoebe campuses! Gardening remains a popular activity for residents because of its ease of access and therapeutic effects. On June 7, residents of Phoebe Richland received an exciting upgrade to their gardening infrastructure thanks to Nonni’s Garden.
Nonni’s Garden is a nonprofit organization established in 2024 to introduce and/or enhance a love for gardening in the local community. The organization was created in memory of Yolanda Pagano-Fellin, an avid gardener who maintained her passion for the craft even with a dementia diagnosis. For Yolanda, gardening became a valuable therapy tool and a way to connect with her loved ones. Yolanda’s family would often garden with older adults who lived in Memory Care Units, noting the hobby’s positive effects on everyone involved.
To share the benefits of gardening with the world, Nonni’s Garden supplies communities with the tools to do precisely that.
Phoebe Richland was the lucky winner of a contest hosted by the organization, which awarded the campus two new, 12-foot raised garden beds. Representatives from Nonni’s Garden filled pots with flowers and veggies alongside residents in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for each bed.
Nonni’s Garden also helped clean up and plant flowers in existing beds on campus, supplied gardening tools, and hosted a garden crafts session.
The day aimed to highlight gardening for residents of Meadow Glen, Phoebe Richland’s award-winning personal care neighborhood.
We hope these new gardening areas will allow more Phoebe Richland residents to connect with nature and cultivate a more profound love of gardening.
Phoebe Ministries would like to thank Nonni’s Garden for their amazing work at Phoebe and beyond.
To learn more about Phoebe Richland, please visit 5d5b62807b.nxcli.io/richland.
Written by Dominic Trabosci
Photos courtesy of Nonni’s Garden