In a garden in Simsbury, you’ll meet members of a club from the Virginia Connolly Residence, a home for those age 62 and older.
“When I told my sisters they couldn’t believe it. Mona in the garden,” said Mona Martinik of Simsbury.
A place where people of all experience levels cultivate plants and friendships.
“They are my teacher. I’m 90 years old and I have to learn,” said Manqing Tong of Simsbury.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
Gardening is not just a fun activity. There can also be positive benefits.
A study in 2020 found gardeners aged 60 to 95 saw physical and social plusses.
“Every morning and every morning, very happy,” said Tong.
Local
Another study in 2019 found a boost in brain nerve growth in seniors following the work.
“You heard about green thumbs and mine's kind of green and purple,” said Linda Turgeon of Simsbury.
After a stroke, Turgeon now prunes and waters the flowers here.
“There's always something that you can do no matter what happens to you. So I enjoy it,” said Turgeon.
And now the space is expanding thanks to the recent addition of two new planters.
It’s the Eagle Scout project of Patrick Hydeck – the son of NBC Connecticut’s Mike Hydeck.
“Just to know that on some level their lives are better because I built something that they love is just an amazing thought,” said Hydeck.
