Gardening competition helps blossom strong community links

Health care provider Four Seasons has teamed up with local garden centres to run the Summer of Joy gardening competition at three care homes including Galgorm Care Home in Ballymena.
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Summer Of Joy tasked applicants with submitting a photograph of their own ‘pocket garden’, a finished flower pot for residents of the care homes and garden centre representatives to judge in order to win a £200 voucher for their local garden centre.

Galgorm Care Home partnered with Ben Vista Garden Centre in Ahoghill in a competition won by local resident Emma Burbridge who collected £200 vouchers for Ben Vista. The aim of the initiative is to inspire local people to get gardening and test their green fingers, promote inclusion and establish relations among the community.

Lynda Kenny, Business Development Manager at Four Seasons Healthcare said: “The past 18 months have been extremely difficult and care homes across the country have experienced great sadness. We wanted to inject some positivity and create something fun for care home residents and the supportive communities hence Summer of Joy blossomed. We would like to thank all the applicants, Galgorm Care Home and Ben Vista Garden Centre for their enthusiastic efforts and we are excited to see their relationship flourish.”

(Left to right) Emma Burbridge, Competition Winner. Lisa McDonald, Home Manager at Galgorm Care Home and Lynda Kenny, Business Development Manager at Four Seasons(Left to right) Emma Burbridge, Competition Winner. Lisa McDonald, Home Manager at Galgorm Care Home and Lynda Kenny, Business Development Manager at Four Seasons
(Left to right) Emma Burbridge, Competition Winner. Lisa McDonald, Home Manager at Galgorm Care Home and Lynda Kenny, Business Development Manager at Four Seasons

Lisa McDonald, Home Manager at Galgorm Care Home stated: “It was fantastic to be involved in the Summer of Joy competition and see the positive response from the local community as we were inundated with entries. Our residents enjoyed every second of judging the competition and it was a hard task as the standard was very high. Emma’s pot really stood out and we would like to congratulate her for being chosen as the winner. The competition brought excitement to the care home and it was great to feel a buzz around the place after a challenging 18 months.

“At Galgorm, we have a lot of strong links with the local community so we were delighted to form a new connection with Ben Vista. They have been extremely kind to us and even donated a range of beautiful flowers.

“We would like to thank them tremendously for helping us participate in the competition and we look forward to continuing a relationship with them in the future.”

Collecting her prize, Winner Emma Burbridge said: “Gardening is a key passion of mine so I decided to enter the competition and I was absolutely delighted to be selected as the winner. Through this initiative, I was able to see the power of community. I become aware of the care home and the integral role it plays in the local area as well as learning more about Ben Vista and recognising them as a kind local business. I would like to thank all involved and I can’t wait to put my prize to good use.”

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