News

Prepping for garden joy

April 27th, 2021

There’s still snow in the forecast, but cozy inside Points West Living Cold Lake, the promise of spring has already sprung. Recent resident, Hank Slade has been busy planting seed trays of flowers, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Under his attentive care, many have already sprouted.

Keen gardener

“This will be Hank’s first summer here,” says recreation coordinator Lindsay Boisvenue, “and he’s been asking us about gardening since he moved here in January. He has many years of gardening under his belt and has offered to share his knowledge with us.”

Hank has set up a small wardrobe-sized greenhouse where he keeps his plants in a bright inside location at PWL Cold Lake. Conditions outside the window need to warm up considerably before Hank’s seedlings will be safe to transplant, but he’s getting everything ready for that day.

Waiting for warmth

“He is getting the kitchen to save egg shells,” says Lindsay, “so he can use them as fertilizer when he plants them outside.”

Maintenance man John Gordon has done a lot of work already to prepare the raised garden beds outside. The ground is still frozen, but within a few short weeks, residents who enjoy getting their hands dirty will get to tend to their plants.

For those who consider gardening a spectator sport, the community has recently acquired a fire pit, which, Lindsay says, “we will be setting up soon so we can enjoy s’mores with residents.”

Photo: Resident Hank Slade shows off his tomato seedlings at PWL Cold Lake. Hank has also planted flowers and vegetables, and is excited to plant a bunch of potatoes as well.

More photos at Flickr: Prepping for garden joy