When the Jardin botanique comes to CHSLDs

Suppose the Jardin botanique went to spend time with people who can no longer visit it? In Montréal’s CHSLDs and long-term care units, gardening activities are doing much more than making flowers bloom: they’re bring back memories, fostering connections and offering priceless moments of respite.

As soon as participants arrive, their hands plunge into the soil. Weeding gets done, planting, watering. People ask questions, they talk, they laugh. For a moment, time stands still. Worries give way to the pleasures of gardening.

Mint, nasturtiums, coleus and cucumbers grow next to one another in planters. Gloved hands get busy digging in the earth. Laughter and conversations become soft background music. The scene could be unfolding at the Jardin botanique. And yet, here we are on the terrace of the Centre d’hébergement Paul-Bruchési or in the courtyard of the Centre d’hébergement Armand-Lavergne, a few kilometers from the Jardin botanique.

An initiative that takes the Jardin botanique on a journey

This project is part of an initiative of the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal aimed at strengthening the presence of the community in living and care settings. In that context, Espace pour la vie museums were invited to explore different ways of making their activities and experiences accessible to people living in CHSLDs or in other accommodation services. Whether they’re offered directly in living areas or in the museums themselves, these initiatives are intended to promote residents’ wellbeing, social participation and sense of wonder by way of nature experiences adapted to their reality.

In concrete terms, the Jardin botanique’s guided-activity team arranges planters both inside and outside establishments and organizes planting activities. In the space of a few hours, a little green space comes to life, and with it, new opportunities for people to connect.

The earth, a language people don’t forget

For a number of participants, gardening is deeply ingrained in their lives. One of them said that it brought back memories of Abitibi, of a time when he tended his garden. While some participants are very independent, others speak hardly at all or are living with reduced mobility. But familiar movements come back naturally: pulling up a weed, digging a hole, gently watering plants.

It brings back memories. The garden becomes a good catalyst for discussions that would not otherwise take place. People talk about their vegetable gardens from times long past, about vegetables grown as a family endeavor, about the harvests of their youth.

The simple fact of having something to achieve changes everything. People focus on the planting happening in front of them. Arguments are forgotten, tensions relax, worries drift away. People take the time to talk about their day and to enjoy the present moment.

Gardening at their own pace

With some participants, the activities team takes the time to explain each stage, to tell stories and to get to know them. Other participants prefer to be alone. For those with restricted mobility, the activity becomes collaborative.
“Get the weeds out here.”
“Put that a little to the right.”
Listening also means helping them see the beauty of a flower, touch the leaves of a plant, enjoy the scent of lilacs, cut out a weed. Every mission becomes an opportunity for escape. One enthusiastic woman is already on her fourth planter: only a shortage of seedlings will stop her!

And even when the hands stay clean it’s possible to take part. Oversee the plantings, touch the weeds, smell mint, laugh at the facilitator’s jokes, take in his or her every move – in a word, enjoy the atmosphere!

Benefits above and beyond the garden

For the guided-activity team, the experience is a success. “I would do it again gladly,” confides one guide. “It’s an important activity,” adds a colleague. “Beyond the love of living things, there’s the fact of truly being in contact not just with nature but with beauty as well.”

As for the staffs at the CHSLDs, the response has been unanimous and enthusiastic: the work of the Jardin botanique team with the participants exceeds their expectations. In just two hours, all the plants are in the earth. Participants are beaming, and the air is filled with laughter. One female participant even left her room just to be part of the activity, and her presence alone already constitutes a great victory!

This small-group formula makes it possible to offer a unique experience: every person was able to benefit from attentive care and personalized support. We’re betting that that moment will take its place with the other wonderful memories!

Read also:

Bringing young people in youth centers closer to nature through urban agriculture