Marshland St Jame’s Hickathrift House Care Home celebrate international flower day

Beautiful floral decorations were made by residents of Hickathrift House care home as they celebrated International Flower Day.

The day of celebration took place on Friday and aims to promote the psychological boost that flowers can give to people.

Residents took part in flower-based activities in the celebration including a flower arranging afternoon, reminiscing about their gardens, learning what different flowers symbolise, virtual visits to famous gardens via YouTube and floral aromatherapy which everyone enjoyed.

Their collective knowledge about flowers was gained from years of gardening experience and staff said their efforts were “very impressive”.

Audrey, a resident at Hickathrift House, based in Marshland St James, said, “What stunning displays we all made. I was thrilled to take part in the flower arranging, it reminded me of my florist days.

“I was very fond of learning what the flowers symbolised as some I never knew. Even at the age of 99, there are still things to learn.”

Paula Colman, General Manager at Hickathrift House, said: “Our garden is a much-loved space, residents enjoy looking after the plants and flowers and watching them grow and change through the seasons.

“We don’t have many flowers at the moment so our residents very much enjoy the escapism of virtually visiting some of the most famous gardens in the world.”

The care home says it offers a varied life enrichment programme that keeps residents active and provides a daily choice of engaging physical, mental and spiritual activities tailored to residents’ interests and abilities.

Hickathrift House Care Home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals.

Hickathrift House provides residential care and dementia care for 53 residents from respite care to long-term stays.