Residents of Kingston Health Care Center enjoy gardening activities

KINGSTON — “I like to get my hands dirty,” 87-year-old Frances Tatara admitted as she transplanted pink impatiens into a larger pot.

“I grew up on a farm in Dorrance,” she said. “We had all the weeding of the garden.”

For Tatara and about a dozen other residents of the Kingston Health Care Center, working on a Green Thumb Club transplanting project on a recent Tuesday afternoon evoked lots of memories.

“I had a gorgeous rosebush, transplanted from my boyfriend’s mother’s yard,” 74-year-old Jeanne Shuella reminisced. “I grew up in Forty Fort with strawberries and tomatoes.”

“My father had a beautiful garden and we would help as much as he would let us,” 81-year-old Carmella Cannon recalled. “People would come up to him and ask, ‘Mister, can you come to my house and do it for me, too?’”

For residents of the skilled nursing facility on Third Avenue, tending plants is about more than reviving memories. It’s about looking forward to the future, too, as new seeds take root and start to grow.

“I’m going to get some lettuce started,” activities director Gabriella Falvo said, hinting the leaves could eventually become part of a salad, along with the little green pepper and even smaller green tomato that had sprouted on a sunny window sill in the recreation room.

“We’re really proud of our pepper,” Falvo said.

Beverly Andrews, 80, was proud of the impatiens, too, which she had raised from seed. “I gave them a lot of water,” she said as she transplanted some lavender.

Falvo started the Green Thumb meetings shortly after she began working at the Kingston Health Care Center in February. It’s an indoor program for now, held in the large, airy room where residents meet for exercise and games.

She hopes to expand the program to include raised beds she’d like to build just outside the door.

The more gardening opportunities, the better, Tatara said. “It keeps your mind good, to do this.”

Tuesday’s Green Thumb session included not only transplanting established flowers but planting fresh-from-the-packet seeds for cilantro, chamomile and sunflowers.

The fragrant herbs might eventually be harvested for sachets, Falvo said.

As for the sunflowers, some residents expected they might grow very tall.

How tall?

“They’re going to have to remove the roof,” Shuella teased.

Activities director Gabriella Falvo plants a new crop while Jeanne Shuella looks on. Shuella said her cataracts prevent her from seeing well enough to plant the tiny seeds herself.

https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_TTL083116greenthumbs5.jpg.optimal.jpgActivities director Gabriella Falvo plants a new crop while Jeanne Shuella looks on. Shuella said her cataracts prevent her from seeing well enough to plant the tiny seeds herself. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader

Katherine Ritchie transplants a flower into a larger container during a Green Thumb session at the Kingston Health Care Center where she is a resident.

https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_TTL083116greenthumbs1.jpg.optimal.jpgKatherine Ritchie transplants a flower into a larger container during a Green Thumb session at the Kingston Health Care Center where she is a resident. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader

The eggplant Catherine Wilkins is transplanting doesn’t have any vegetables growing on it, but it does have nice, soft leaves.

https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_TTL083116greenthumbs2.jpg.optimal.jpgThe eggplant Catherine Wilkins is transplanting doesn’t have any vegetables growing on it, but it does have nice, soft leaves. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader

Beverly Andrews shares a laugh while she transplants some lavender.

https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_TTL083116greenthumbs3.jpg.optimal.jpgBeverly Andrews shares a laugh while she transplants some lavender. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader

Activities aide Lyndsey Eddy helps Frances Tatara replant pink impatiens that grew from seeds Beverly Andrews planted earlier this year. Working with the plants reminds Tatara of her youth growing up on a farm in Dorrance.

https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_TTL083116greenthumbs4.jpg.optimal.jpgActivities aide Lyndsey Eddy helps Frances Tatara replant pink impatiens that grew from seeds Beverly Andrews planted earlier this year. Working with the plants reminds Tatara of her youth growing up on a farm in Dorrance. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader