Gardening project at Queens Oak proves fruitful with residents

The people living at Queens Oak Care Home in Peckham have enjoyed planting and harvesting fresh fruits and vegetables during the warm summer months.

Lots of the residents of Queens Oak enjoy gardening activities, as for many people it’s been a lifelong hobby. The team encourage people to continue their lifetime hobbies as it improves their personal well-being and helps to bring back fond memories from the past.

From sowing the seeds to watering them and watching them grow, residents enjoy being involved in the full gardening process. The best thing about growing their own vegetables they say is harvesting them when they’re grown and seeing them in their lunches and dinners. Everyone agrees they always taste nicer than fruits and vegetables bought from the shop.

The warm summer weather has helped with the growth of the fruits and vegetables they planted earlier in the year and has sped up the ripening process too!

During a recent afternoon in the garden, Vera noticed the tomatoes had gone a lovely shade of red and were ready for picking, so Lifestyle Coordinator Marilyn got a bowl and the pair picked the tomatoes together. Whilst doing this, they spoke about the wonderful scent of the fresh tomatoes and how much better they taste when they’re harvested on the vine!

Everyone at Queens Oak is keeping an eye on the plants in the garden and are looking forward to harvesting the rest when they're ripe.