Seniors living with Alzheimer’s and dementia at Presbyterian Village North (PVN) recently came together to create a butterfly garden to help monarch butterflies along their migration path flying north for the summer and south for the winter. Interstate 35 is also called “Pollinator Highway,” since the butterflies’ migration correlates closely with the highway’s route as they converge through Texas and then sprawl across North America. However, the monarch butterfly population has declined by 90 percent in the last 20 years. As a result, mayors around the country, including Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, and other local government chief executives are taking part in the National Wildlife Federation’s Mayors’ Monarch Pledge. This is an effort to encourage citizens to create habitats where butterflies thrive, and the goal is to establish one million public and private gardens or landscapes to support pollinators. Residents of Presbyterian Village North are assisting this initiative by maintaining the butterfly garden they recently created. Susan Morgan, a therapeutic horticulturalist, initiated this project at PVN and plans monthly horticultural activities, both indoor and outdoor, for memory care residents.
“I love helping seniors living with Alzheimer’s and dementia,” said Morgan. “It is therapeutic for them to participate, as it elevates their mood by reducing depression, anxiety and stress, as well as decreasing rumination and negative self-talk. Working in the garden increases their sense of wonder, cultivates creativity, prompts varying levels of physical exercise and engages people in a lot of other ways. A garden is an essential component for overall wellbeing. Creating this garden will be a transformative experience for the residents. They will tend the garden and oversee the lifecycle of caterpillars cocooning up and bursting forth as radiant butterflies.”
The garden includes a variety of plants suitable for the butterflies in all stages of its life, including host plants for caterpillars to feed on and nectar plants for full-grown butterflies. The plants are drought tolerant, heat tolerant, and low maintenance. PVN groundskeepers prepared for the area for the garden by putting in soil suitable for planting. They will provide supplemental care to the gardens in addition to the time residents and staff members spend nurturing it. Morgan is also working to obtain an official butterfly garden and wildlife habitat certification through the National Wildlife Federation.
“For seniors living with memory care, it is imperative to help them exercise their five senses through hands-on activities that rekindle fond memories,” said Lillian Adrian, memory care specialist for Presbyterian Village North. “Smelling the dirt, touching the leaves and the petals, hearing the birds chirp, seeing the vivid colors of the flowers, all help them to reminisce. The ability to recall these memories and feelings helps bridge their rich past with the present. Our goal is to celebrate each day with them, and this is the perfect way to create a positive experience.”
Within the next year, PVN will open a new memory care building, The Terrace, as part of a $93 million expansion project that the senior living community is undergoing to cater to the increased need for senior housing and memory care services. Adrian is excited for the Terrace to be completed, and is eagerly planning a variety of gardening opportunities for current and future memory care residents over the next year. Currently, residents have access to raised flower beds that have been packed with an abundance of beautiful plants that the residents take care of daily. Adrian has also created a program called Blooms of Blessings, in which local florists donate flowers to be used in floral arrangement classes. During the classes, residents focus on creating arrangements for newcomers who move into the community and for fellow seniors in skilled nursing.
Looking ahead, Adrian plans to expand the Blooms of Blessings program so that residents at The Terrace may partake in the classes as well. Adrian also plans on organizing a garden specifically for planting herbs and vegetables, nurturing them from seedlings to plants, then picking them to use in some of the residents’ daily activities. Adrian and Morgan find that everyone engaged in the garden—team members and family alike—thoroughly enjoy working together, learning new things and spending time outdoors together. They believe it is therapeutic not only for the residents, but for everyone involved.
“We are excited to contribute to the pit stops located along “Pollinator Highway” by creating a space that is pollinator-friendly for butterflies to stop by and visit,” said Ron Kelly, executive director for Presbyterian Village North. “We are already a rare pit stop for purple martins during their migration, so we are happy to make our community friendly for the monarch butterflies as well. Our community is situated on 63 acres of beautiful, green, budding land, and we take great pride in maintaining the grounds on which PVN is located. This abundance of land and the outdoor spaces are some of the most unique features that set us apart.”