Growing success for the gardens team at Manor Lodge
The residents and staff of Manor Lodge residential home are proud of their success in the Britain in Bloom awards. The grounds of the home in Portland Avenue, Exmouth, have been judged the winner of the residential home section in the 2010 Exmouth in Bloom competition. The home employs two gardeners, but many of the residents also enjoy volunteering their help with the care of the plants and shrubs, with the assistance of care home staff where necessary. And everyone’s efforts have paid off again with Manor Lodge’s seventh successive victory in the awards. Proprietor Georgina Kerler-Lovegrove said: “Our gardens are a wonderful resource, carefully designed with decking and laid out in such a way that the residents can go for a walk or sit out and enjoy the good weather. “The gardens are south-facing and secluded, offering a peaceful and secluded oasis of calm, in wonderful surroundings. “The residents take great pleasure in seeing the gardens looking so good. The gardens help to provide a lovely atmosphere for the home and also contribute towards a good working environment for our staff. “We find the residents enjoy helping out with gardening tasks. Some have a little patch or tubs to tend outside their patio doors. “Many have had beautiful gardens in the past and have a lot of knowledge, so they enjoy identifying the plants and pointing out when work needs doing, such as pruning or dead-heading, and some are keen to do a little bit of gardening.” The residents used the gardens for a sponsored walk to raise money for the Beacon Primary School. Local pupils visit at Christmas to perform a carol concert at the residential home, so the residents decided to raise the money as a thank-you.
