Care Home’s New Garden Is Scent-Sational

The garden at Colten Care’s Court Lodge in Lymington is now an even greater feast for the senses, thanks to a new sensory area filled with aromatic plants and flowers.

Gardeners at the home constructed the new plot following suggestions by residents.

Featuring a host of sweet smelling herbs, plants and flowers, from Lemongrass to Love in the Mist and Stocks to Sweet Williams, there are also special, raised flowerbeds, so residents can easily play a part in the sowing, planting and weeding.

The sensory garden was officially opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony performed by the home’s manager, Sheeja Lolamony, plus music from country and western guitarist/singer Nigel Revill.

Resident Mavis Matthews, said: “It’s a beautifully sheltered area and when the breeze catches the plants you can really smell all the different scents.”

Mavis added: “Before moving to Court Lodge I lived in a house with a large garden and I loved to grow flowers, while my husband grew all our vegetables.

“My favourite flowers have always been Sweet Peas and Stocks and that’s what I’ve planted in the new garden.”

Colten Companion Julia Puia, said: “The residents love the new sensory area because, like all our grounds, it has been designed and built completely with them in mind.

“They can sit in the sun and breathe in the different scents, and residents who use wheelchairs can also navigate the wide paths and reach out and touch and smell the plants as they wish.”