Gardening Projects for Spring from Memory Care in Pittsburgh, PA

Preparing for a bountiful blooming gardening season in the Northeast!

There’s nothing like the feeling of your hands and feet planted firmly in the dirt, taking stock of all that you have grown from your own two hands in your personal garden. Even those of us lacking a yard can relish in the satisfaction of growing new plant life. Whether you have acres of land for vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers, or a small potted plant in your home, a little preparation and some simple projects can brighten your spring.

Whitetail Springs Memory Care Community in Pittsburgh, PA has prepared a few small projects for you and your loved one to do this spring during the gardening season. From our memory care home in Pittsburgh to you, here are our top 3 choices!

Plant Friendships

One of the coolest things about plants is that they actually have other plants that they grow best with. Much like the symbiotic relationships in the animal world, when planted together, certain plants can thrive because of their compatible properties. These plants are called companion plants!

Some fantastic examples of these plants are strawberries and parsley, carrots and sage, celery and cabbages, and calendula and broccoli. Some of these taller plants can offer safety to shade-lovers, and plants like calendula have a sticky substance that attracts a certain fly that eats aphids, benefiting vegetables like broccoli that are very tasty to the pests. We think half of the fun of gardening is learning, so we suggest taking an afternoon with your loved one to do a little research on these companion plants and talk about what kind of plants you’d pair together and why. It’s a perfect bonding activity!

Succulent Planting

In our retirement community, we love it when we get to see our residents’ skills at work! While indoor gardening can be tricky, it’s easy to pick projects that can thrive indoors and with little effort. Succulents are an excellent choice for indoor planting because they look beautiful but require little watering, pruning, or maintenance. Bring in a beautiful wide, round pot, some soil, and several varieties of succulents, and spend a morning with your loved one choosing and planting succulents in the pot to keep in their own personal indoor garden. Not only will the garden bring a sense of pride to your loved one, but will serve as a wonderful reminder of your times spent together.

Spring Cleaning

While not as fun as the other tips on this list, this is just as important. Spring cleaning is vital not only for your home but for your gardening shed too! Pitching expired products like pesticides or plant foods, rotting wooden tools, or rusted tools keeps your shed sanitary and safe. Take a moment to inspect your tools and see what items need to be thoroughly cleaned or repaired. Create a better workflow in your shed by reorganizing your tools, materials, and plant products in a labeled, organized, and super-functional fashion. But most importantly, take care of any safety hazards in your shed. Broken clay pots, rusted nails, and spills from chemicals or soils should be cleaned up, and disposed of, and your space should be organized in a way that prevents future safety hazards. A little spring cleaning can really go a long way!

With just some simple tips and planting projects, you too can have a wonderfully fruitful gardening season, planting more than just flora, but beautiful memories as well!

If you are interested in learning more about our memory care community in Pittsburgh, PA, give us a call. We’re more than happy to answer all of your questions over the phone, or better yet, on a virtual or in-person tour of our wonderful community!