SE N I OR LIV ING
Sherwood Oaks resident Louise Frame
Resident It seems that UPMC Senior Communities residents still love to play in the dirt. Resident gardens are flourishing at many campuses, including Sherwood Oaks continuing care retirement community in Cranberry Township, Seneca Hills Village independent living in Penn Hills, and Beatty Pointe Village independent living in Monroeville.
T
he residents of Sherwood Oaks always have a variety of garden projects to tend. Early residents, as much as 35 years ago, created two gardens of perennials on the outskirts of the community. Throughout the years, amidst construction and new buildings, these plants have found their way to a community garden closer to the main building. This garden is known as the Wimbledon Garden, and is tended to by half a dozen residents. “We do the weeding and pruning and cover the bed with mulch in the fall for winter protection, and clean it up in the spring,� Betty Eichler, a resident of Sherwood Oaks, said. About six years ago, the Sherwood Oaks Landscape Committee received money to establish the Summerhouse Gardens, eight separate gardens arranged along a crushed gravel walking path. These eight gardens consist of honeysuckle and trumpet vines, spring, summer, and fall flowering bulbs, many different herbs, an impressive amount of vegetable, and annual and perennial flowers such as butterfly bush, black-eyed Susan, daisies, and hollyhock. These gardens also include attractive watering features, and shaded seating areas throughout. 24
NOVEMBER 2018 | www.northernconnectionmag.com