Home Farm Alumni News

The Calgary Flames stopped by the Alberta Children’s Hospital on December 22 to visit inpatients and families.  Fortunately, they were able to participate in the inpatient Horticultural Therapy program that afternoon.  Our activity for that day involved creating some beautiful Christmas flower arrangements using fresh cut flowers, terra cotta pots, and floral Oasis.  The children really enjoy creating flower arrangement and the Oasis make it easier to arrange the flowers.  Trimming the stems and inserting the stems into the Oasis encourages fine-motor skill development and working in a group helps develop social skills for children that, in some instances, aren’t used to socializing with their peers.  Creativity is also encouraged – we use special terra cotta markers, paint, stickers, paper and Mod Podge to decorate the pots.  On December 22, however, most of the children had their pots decorated by the Calgary Flames – with signatures, well wishes and players’ numbers decorating their Christmas centrepieces.

It was a real thrill for the children to have the Flames stop by the HT program that afternoon.  The players were terrific with the kids and EVERYONE left feeling just a little bit better than when they arrived…

Becky Feasby
Horticultural Therapist
Alberta Children’s Hospital, Calgary AB

From the garden, to the home, and back to the earth.

Submitted By:  Carol Stanley, Powell River, B.C.

Materials: Garden herbs with strong stems to make frame, I used caraway. Dried oregano, any and all dried herbs, seedpods, holly with berries for colour

Procedure:

1. Pick herbs from garden.  I put oregano (that has gone to flower) in an equal mixture of glycerine and hot water, let water cool, place oregano in water and leave in a cool, dry place for approx. 3 weeks.  This works well with all sorts of plants, leaves, giving the leaves a leathery, workable texture.
2. Hot glue frame together, you might need to use a vice of thicker stems.  The stems are left with all their imperfections.
3. Use grape vine to wind around frame and form a hanger.
4. Hot glue oregano and other plants, seeds, anything that will compost, to frame
5. Hang and enjoy!

Therapeutic Values:

Cognitive – Plant, herb and seedpod names.  Herbs, their uses, cooking, medicinal. Composting, the environment, gardening.
Physical – Picking plants.  Making a natural frame.  Using glue, or glue gun.
Emotional – The aroma and texture of plant material
Social – Exchanging ideas.  Helping each other put frames together, talking about past times.
Spiritual/Creative – Nature.  Creativity.  Frame can be any shape, and size.  Placement of plant material.

Populations Used With: This craft can be used with the young, elderly, dementia, physical and mental disabilities.  Keeping safety first.  Change hot gun to white glue, make sure all herbs and materials used are edible.  No sharp instruments.  Plants can be composted as they loose colour and texture.  Frame can be reused in another craft.  Made into garden stakes.

Creative Festive Centrepieces

Submitted By: Margaret Nevett, Gardening For Life, Toronto, ON

Source of Activity Idea: While working for a local florist in the past, I had an opportunity to create similar arrangements for clients using evergreens and flowers in a florist foam base.

Materials:
4 inch green plastic saucer
Florist foam (cut to fit saucer base, 2 to 3 inches high)
Florist (waterproof) tape to secure foam in saucer
Salal branches
Pine branches
Cedar branches
Seeded Eucalyptus
Red, white and/or pink stripped carnations

Procedure:

Preparation -
Complete the preparation in advance or involve residents where possible, depending on abilities of your participants.
Prepare saucers with florist foam cut to fit and secure with florist tape.
Soak florist foam in water until saturated.
Cut branches and stems to 5 or 6 inch pieces in advance or assist participants to trim stems as they add to the arrangement.

Creating  Festive Centrepieces -
1. Begin by adding the largest leaves of the salal stems to create a base for the arrangement.
2. Add small stems of pine, cedar and seeded Eucalyptus to fill in the arrangement all around
3. Select 5 carnations of your favourite colour combinations, to add throughout the arrangement.

Finish off by spritzing the arrangement with water and taking pictures!

Therapeutic Values:

Cognitive – concentration, must follow several steps to complete, make choices of colours, creative placement of each type of branch, seasonal orientation
Physical – hand strength needed to cut branches to small pieces, fine motor skills to pick up branches and flowers and push into florist foam, range of motion to reach and select materials, stimulating smells
Emotional – scents of evergreens stimulate memories of holiday times and Christmas trees or evergreen bows brought indoors to decorate in winter. Develops self esteem through creativity and sense of accomplishment
Social – materials and creations are shared with other residents, enjoyed in the dining rooms later, conversational focus. Preparation and clean-up requires teamwork.
Spiritual/Creative – designing with scented evergreens and flowers connects us with nature -  a peaceful, satisfying activity. Each arrangement turns out differently. All are beautiful.

Populations Used With: My work has been mostly with seniors in Long Term Care Facilities. This project can be prepared in advance if necessary to make it easy to accomplish and would be suitable for most populations.

Submitted By: Christine Pollard, Home Farm, Duncan, BC             

Materials: plant pot in the shape of a dish, potting soil, grass seed, water, squeeze bottle

Procedure:

1. Fill the dish with potting soil to a half inch of the rim
2. Scatter grass seed over the soil and water in with squeeze bottle
3. When the grass is tall enough, trim with scissors
4. For seasonal effect, place a small snowman on the grass, an easter egg of in the flower season use the dish to hold a posy of flowers.

Therapeutic Values:

Cognitive – following directions  *Should not be used for people with dementia as the activity is out of season.
Physical – fine motor skills, the smell of outdoors, the smell of cut grass can evokes good memories
Emotional – optimistic feelings of spring on drab winter days
Social - reminisce about lawns of the past
Spiritual/Creative - for pain management another HT used the artificial spray of cut grass to evoke a sense of well being as that was a safe memory.  In this case the real cut grass could also work.

Populations Used With: pain management, those unable to go outside, physical barriers, seniors

Submitted By: Cheryl Cohan, Matlock, Manitoba
Diggerwoman Horticultural Therapy

We do these activities outside in Manitoba where the cold is relentless and the winter fierce but beautiful.  Some are not suitable..others require the right clothes, population and settings (and hot chocolate which is made from plants!).

Activity Ideas:

-Bird feeders…fill with homemade food…food made by mixing seeds and cereals and stale bread etc.  Either fill feeders or roll pine cones in lard (or peanut butter) and then seed mix

-Slice orange peels, apple skins or other fruits, hang from threads…go out and hang in trees or wherever suitable

-Take walks to listen for birds..note other wildlife, sounds, angle of sun, sky patterns & analyze snowflakes

-Snow-sculpt…make benches, shapes, forms & sculptures

-Pour water into molds (anything Will do) and create ice art .  Put food coloring into water before pouring…this is particularly lovely if you make molds that can hold candles or tea lights (Lee Valley has a great mold)

-Decorate trees, shrubs and other outdoor structures with art, ornaments, toy birds, lights, etc.

-Bundle up, go outside and lie down in the snow…make angels or hollows…pretend to be a deer…make a deer or buffalo bed

-Make quinzees…this takes a couple of seasons.  When done, sleep in it..or hang out in it

-Make a makeshift straw-bale structure to hang out in…this can then be used as a bus shelter, or a “fort” or covered in snow and turned into a slide

-Walk in the woods, collect berries from trees…make tea (eg rose hip), look for tracks and poop and signs of life

With winter quickly approaching we would like to provide an opportunity for Home Farm Alumni to share HT winter activity ideas.

To participate, fill out the attached TEMPLATE (this should take you no longer than 20 minutes) and submit it by email by Friday December 5th.  Submissions will be posted on the blog in time for Winter Solstice.  If you have a photo to include this would be a great addition.