Master Gardeners Give
NEWARK, Del. With the
enthusiastic assistance of exten
sion master gardener volunteers,
the frail elderly clients of the Uni
versity of Delaware Adult Day
Care Center are filling the center’s
new courtyard with plantings of
peppers and tomatoes, marigolds .
and cone flowers.
Horticulture therapy reverses
the usual dependent role of older •'
people, explains Melissa Schneck,
staff assistant at the center who
proposed the courtyard construc
tion to the master gardeners last
summer. “The theory is that by
taking care of the plants, which are
dependent on them, our clients can
regain a sense of responsibility and
purpose.
“Gardening is a really useful
activity that pushes these older
adults to use their eyes and their
dexterity,” says master gardener
Tom Swoboda, who helped design
the courtyard and select the plant
ings. “To start a pepper seed in a
paper cup, transplant it outside, see
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state Division of Aging and the
City of Newark. Housing was first
provided at the Hudson State Ser
vice Center, but in October 1986
the day care center moved to the
university’s Newark Hall.
Aware of the possibilities of a
courtyard at the new location,
Schneck contacted extension hor
ticulturist Sue Barton, who
referred her to Delaware’s cadre of
master gardeners. Master garden
ers are volunteers who receive 45
hours of training from Delaware
cooperative extension experts. In
return they spend an equivalent
amount of time helping spread
extension home gardening infor
mation to larger audiences.
Schneck, 34, is a full-time staff
member of the center and a part
time undergraduate student in indi
vidual and family studies at the
university. She says the horticul
ture therapy idea was originally
proposed by her in an independent
study project with Dr. Marvin
Sussman, the university professor
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who initiated the adult day care
program.
“You know, gardening is
America’s number one pastime,”
Schneck says. “Plus, it’s a year
round activity. You can start seeds
in the winter, put the plants out in
the spring, harvest in the summer,
and collect seeds in the fall.”
When Schneck approached the
master gardeners, the group imme
diately agreed to design the court
yard garden. Tom Swoboda, who
was in the first group of extension
master gardeners graduated in
1986, selected and placed the
plants.
“I had been gardening since I
was a boy. And when I read about
the master gardener program two
years ago, I decided that it suited
me to a T,” Says Swoboda, a
retired Du Pont physical chemist.
“Fust, I was able to add more
academic information on pests and
diseases to my practical experi
ence. And second, I had been rum
maging around for something to do
that wasn’t all just for me. This
program gave me a chance to do
something for other people.”
Swoboda said after the design
was completed, he was surprised at
how quickly it was implemented.
“Literally within weeks we had
men in there pouring concrete.”
The master gardeners’ court
yard design includes two raised
beds accessible to clients in wheel
chairs and three ground level beds.
Concrete, non-slip walks wide
enough for wheelchairs, two
benches and an outdoor faucet
make up the major physical reno
vations that were completed last
November. Money for the court
yard construction came from the
university’s renovation fund for
Newark Hall, the former site of
Newark’s Central Junior High
School.
During the cold months of
February and March, the 37 adult
day care clients were able to start
vegetable and flower seedlings in
the wide, sunny windows of the
center. Master gardeners Dot Col
eman, Tom Swoboda and Sylvia
Finnican assisted the clients in
these plantings.
“Everyone really enjoyed plant
ing the seeds. Most of our people
gardened when they were younger,
and this is a return to a former
role,” says Schneck.
Schneck points out that plant
ing, thinning, potting and trans
planting can contribute to physical
improvements among the elderly
because they involve good hand
eye coordination and fine motor
skills. Another benefit, she says, is
a new sense of self-confidence
experienced by these older garden
ers when their plants prosper.
The enthusiasm of the gardeners
produced an overabundance of
seedlings. Some of the extras were
used for a plant sale. Others
became part of a master gardener
intensive gardening exhibit at the
university’s Ag Day.
Landscaping the courtyard
began in April. The plant material
was bought from fluids raised by
an “Adopt A Plant” program ini
tiated by center staff. Family mem
bers and former program particip
ants were asked to contribute for a
specific plant in exchange for a
plaque with their name on it.
“We ended up with about
$1,200 in woody plants shrubs
like witch hazel, azalea, holly,
swamp magnolia and blueberry
all of which had to be planted at
once,” says Swoboda. He rounded
up enough master gardener vplun
teers to complete the landscaping