Burlington’s Garden Club Celebrated for Garden Therapy Program

Burlington's Garden Club was awarded a Certificate of Merit for its outstanding Garden Therapy program at the 96th Annual Meeting of the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts. The Federation is comprised of 172 clubs with a membership of 10,000 gardeners.

The Burlington Garden Therapy program brings the enjoyment of fresh flowers and flower arranging to the local senior community to help brighten their day, whether delivered to the home-bound, or in-person at Atria Longmeadow Place Assisted Living Community.

When Atria shut down to outside groups due to Covid, the club began working with the Council on Aging. Following COVID protocols, club members assembled 30-50 floral arrangements per session that were then delivered to home-bound seniors via Meals-on-Wheels. This program was so successful, the club continues to create flower arrangements for homebound seniors post-COVID.

As Atria opened to outside groups, club volunteers went back to preparing the containers and flowers and helping residents make their arrangements in person. To allow more Atria residents to participate, garden therapy sessions were moved from evenings to afternoons and expanded to include residents of the Memory Care Unit. Sessions at Atria are very popular with 25-30 residents and 8-14 club members participating each time. There is so much energy, laughter and huge smiles in the room during these sessions!

The Burlington Garden Club is grateful to the Council on Aging and staff at Atria Longmeadow Place for helping make these programs so much fun and successful. Many thanks to all of the program's Chairpersons, volunteers, and A Whole Bunch of Flowers and Burlington Florist for providing fresh and beautiful flowers.