John & Maisie’s Garden Retreat: Growing Community in Retirement
Growing Into Retirement: John & Maisie’s Garden Life at BlueCare
We were at that age that we needed to move on to the next chapter of our life. And we wanted to do it while we were youngish. You know, so we thought, OK, it's time to downsize—which was the hardest thing to do. You know, get rid of all your stuff. All your bits and pieces, yeah.
We did some research and looked around at several places—high-rises and others—but then when we came here, it was just... perfect for us.
We came through the front door, looked out the back door and Maisie said, “We’ll take it.”
She just saw the pond and that was it. She loved it. And the ducks and the wildlife sealed the deal.
When we first arrived, there was basically no garden—just weeds. Which actually excited us, didn’t it? Yes. Because we love gardening. We get into the garden just about every—well, it would be every day. No exceptions.
We started off with rows, and we found rows didn’t work. Now we’re turning it into a cottage garden. We’ve added cottage plants and it’s really sparked things up. There’s a lot more colour now, and it seems to be more interesting for the other residents when they’re walking around. It’s not boring. It’s alive.
I think everyone here has their own little interest. Another couple runs the social events, someone else runs the croquet. The gardening? That’s really ours. Yes. It’s our thing.
When the lemon tree and mandarin tree are full, I just pick the extras and put them in a basket for everyone to help themselves. I don’t need to say anything—they all know. And a couple of friends here love the chillies, don’t they? Yes. So we give them the chillies. We don’t eat them, but they love them.
This type of community living—everyone’s really friendly. You’re not pestered. You can just be yourself. I love it. Best thing we ever did.
I’m glad we did it younger. We’re getting ourselves all set up for when we’re older. Is that what you say? Older.
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