Springmoor Floral Focal Points: You Know You're a Gardener If ...

By Thom Morgan, Springmoor Landscape Manager

You Know You’re a Gardener If:

Thom Morgan

• You have stored enough garden hoses in your garage that they could wrap ten times around the Earth’s equator (and they don’t all connect, or they all leak).
• You leave so many plants in your yard unplanted that people knock on your door, asking if the plants are for sale.
• Your children claim abandonment issues because you’ve spent more time in the garden than with them.
• You have every tool and gardening gizmo known to mankind, and some are still in their packaging.
• To you, there is no “Rain Day” or “Day Off” from gardening.
• Your car has sheets of plastic, or cardboard, all over the seats to place recently purchased plants upon.
• Your kids can’t ride with you to the nursery because there will be no room in the car for them—and the plants.
• You’re always the first one on your street to mow the lawn each spring.
• Your neighbors always knock on your door to borrow gardening tools.
• You have lights on your lawn tractor so you can mow your lawn at night (because you were too busy planting and pulling weeds when the sun was out).
• You are still mowing your lawn when there is a tornado warning, and you’ve been told to take cover.
• You’ve given your lawn tractor a name like “Old Sal” or “Betsy”.
• You don’t step on worms; you throw them into the compost pile.
• Strangers show up on your beautiful front lawn with golf clubs
  
  If any of the above applies to you, don’t worry: you are not alone. Americans spend $40 billion each year on gardening, and the average home owner spends 150 hours in their garden each year. 

Charity Sisters: Springmoor Siblings Bond Over Food, Community Service

Sisters Elsie Eads (left) and Elizabeth Crawford
work together to share food and love with neighbors,
local charities.

Always very close, sisters Elizabeth Crawford and Elsie Eads love that Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community in Raleigh, N.C., allows them to live down the hall from one another and to combine their love of baking and volunteering.

Crawford enjoys baking and often bakes desserts for her friends at Springmoor; Eads likes helping others and giving back to the community, and spends her day working with several different, local programs geared at helping those in need.

The two decided to combine efforts: Crawford bakes desserts and meals and Eads travels to deliver the goods to different groups both on the Springmoor campus and in the local community.

Springmoor Floral Focal Points: Plant a Row of Veggies for Charity

By Thom Morgan, Springmoor Landscape Manager

Thom Morgan

Springmoor Donates Spare Veggies to Food Bank

It was January 2009, and I was thinking about what Springmoor residents and staff could do in the way of a community outreach project when I heard of the Plant a Row program in which a lot of local organizations were participating. It seemed like a great fit for our community: Springmoor had a half-acre of land that we set aside in March 2000, and we had 24 resident gardeners who were very adept at growing fresh vegetables.

Plant a Row, by the way, encourages gardeners to plot one extra row of their vegetable garden and donate the resulting produce to their local food bank. I asked Springmoor Executive Director Fred Conner to see if we could participate and he thought it was a good idea; at the same time, another staff member approached him to see if Springmoor could participate in Stop Hunger Now, which is another community outreach program that helps malnourished residents of impoverished countries. Springmoor ended up taking part in both programs, and just finished packing more than 40,000 meals for Stop Hunger Now.

Springmoor's Pathways Wellness Center Grand Opening Draws Crowd

The new salt-water lap pool

After months of preparation and anticipation, Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community in Raleigh, N.C., held the grand opening of the state-of-the-art Pathways Wellness Center on March 25 with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception.

More than 100 people who attended the event were treated to the sight of a variety of new services offered for residents and their guests, including a 25-meter salt water lap pool, new Keiser fitness equipment in an expanded fitness room, hot tub, sauna, movie theater, beauty salon, bistro, massage therapy rooms, movement room for fitness and wellness classes, and gaming tables.

Springmoor is Excited to Kick Off Increased Wellness Offerings Next Week!

By Kari Richie, Springmoor Health and Fitness Director

Kari Richie

Who’s ready to expand their wellness horizons? Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community has certainly expanded its wellness offerings—and, as the community’s health and fitness director, I couldn’t be more excited!

At the Wellness Center grand opening on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m., I’ll be helping with exercise machine demos and guests will be able to tour the new wellness rooms; get blood pressure, blood glucose and bone density screenings; enjoy a mini-massage and mini manicure, and much more!

Springmoor Springs into Wellness, Shares Simple Salsa Recipe to Start the Season Right

By Kathleen Loescher, Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community move-in coordinator

New exercise equipment is being arranged, the pool is being filled, and in a little less than two weeks, Springmoor’s Pathways Wellness Center will be open to residents and their guests! And it couldn't be happening at a better time. With summer (hopefully) around the corner, many of us are not only thinking about exercise, we are watching our diets, too.

What to Look for When Buying Trees and Shrubs

Thom Morgan

By Thom Morgan
Springmoor Landscape Manager

If you have ever bought a used car, you know that there are a few things you need to check before you purchase it. When buying landscape plants, you should approach it like you would when shopping for a used car. Landscape plants have been previously handled: someone planted it before selling it to the nursery, and the nursery is in business to sell the plant to you. 

Here are some tips to kick the tires, so to speak, when buying a tree or shrub:

Springmoor Gears Up for Pathways Wellness Center Grand Opening on March 25!

By Kathleen Loescher

The exterior of the new Pathways Wellness Center

“Wellness used to be treadmills,” said Springmoor Chief Executive Officer David Ammons, and when Springmoor opened its doors in 1984, the community reflected that: the exercise rooms were small and were filled with stationary bikes and treadmills; the aquatics pool was simply for those who enjoyed water aerobics.

Today, Springmoor views wellness as “whole-person” wellness through the Pathways program that grew from the roots planted in the community’s development. Physical wellness is still a component, but emphasis is also placed on a person’s emotional, vocational, nutritional, social, environmental, spiritual, and even intellectual well-being—aspects that were all taken into consideration in Springmoor’s nearly complete Pathways Wellness Center. 

The community will celebrate the grand opening of the Pathways Wellness Center on March 25 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Cleaning House: Sisters and Springmoor Housekeepers Give 30 Years to Community

Sandra Harris and Barbara Venson

When sisters Sandra Harris and Barbara Venson began working as housekeepers at Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community 30 years ago there was little for them to clean.

The community, which celebrates its 30^th anniversary this year, was made up of only a few buildings at the time. The sisters’ first duties were pulling stickers off of brand-new refrigerators, and sweeping construction debris off sidewalks. A few people lived in apartments, but not many.

Now, there are 391 residences, and 24 housekeepers. The residents—the sisters agreed—are the reason they keep coming back to work at Springmoor year after year.

Springmoor Floral Focal Points: Sustainable Landscapes

By Thom Morgan

Springmoor Landscape Manager

Thom Morgan

Everyone loves fresh fruit and vegetables; I always look forward to eating the first beefsteak tomato of the summer, sliced over a piece of toast, with mayonnaise and bacon. That goes the same for that freshly-picked ear of sweet corn (boiled just long enough until it is tender, with melted butter, and a sprinkle of salt on it). Yes--I am longing for the summer.

Not everyone has enough land, full sun, access to water, or the time to spend on growing fruit trees, and vegetables, though. 

Here are some ways to get around these problems, and incorporate fresh fruits, and vegetables into any landscape:

Rightsizing Tips for Making the Move into Retirement Living

By Kathleen Loescher, Springmoor marketing and relocation coordinator

Your home holds a lifetime of memories and Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community knows that just the thought of sorting through piles of possessions to move to a retirement community can be overwhelming. Luckily, there are plenty of resources available to help make moving less of a daunting task and to help you “rightsize” to move into your new home. 

Julie Kopetsky, president of Your Next Move, has five helpful tips when it comes to clearing out a house for a move:

Springmoor Starts Work for Stop Hunger Now

By Stacey Axler, intern

Chaplain Phyllis Mayo with the 50,000 meal award

Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community is gearing up for Stop Hunger Now, a meal-packaging program that will aid international hunger-relief efforts.

Feb. 14 marks the third year that Springmoor residents will host a Stop Hunger Now event.

“This is the third year we hosted Stop Hunger Now on Valentine’s Day because it is Springmoor’s way to give our love back to the world,” Springmoor Chaplain Phyllis Mayo said.

Local Eats: Springmoor Residents Can Feast Mediterranean-style at Nearby Neomonde Baking Company

In the 1970s, the Saleh family (mother, Cecelia, and sons Sam, Joe, Mounir and DeGaulle) left war-torn Lebanon for a better life and the opportunities that the United States could provide. They searched around the Raleigh, N.C., area, but could find nothing resembling the bread they gathered around the table to eat at home. So, with a converted pizza oven, a rental space in a strip mall, help from an uncle, and a pita recipe that had been passed down through generations, Neomonde Baking Company was born.   

The Saleh family founded the Neomonde Baking Company

New Year, New Plants!

By Thom Morgan

Springmoor Landscape Manager

Here are a few new plants on the market that are sure to brighten your garden, and your year:

Windcliffslaty blue Lenton rose

Recipe Share: The Easiest Bark to Place Under the Tree

‘Tis the season for holiday parties, gift exchanges, and get-togethers with family and friends. It’s all fun and festive, but makes for a very full calendar. If full scale holiday baking doesn’t fit into your schedule this season, then this is the recipe for you! 

Made up of only three ingredients, this Pistachio and Cranberry White Chocolate Bark comes together in just a little bit more time than it takes to melt the chocolate. It’s an interesting twist on traditional holiday peppermint bark, with a creamy white chocolate base and festive flecks of red and green.      

It’s easy enough to make a few batches to keep on hand for gift giving, unexpected guests, and holiday parties. Everyone appreciates a little something homemade this time of year!

Springmoor Floral Focal Points: Landscaping the new Wellness Center

By Thom Morgan, Springmoor landscape manager

Thom Morgan

It’s a November morning, and I am standing in front of what will be the entrance to Springmoor’s new Wellness Center. Piles of dirt, broken concrete and construction materials surround the area. Large machines sit parked ready for another day of work. Somehow this soon will be a finished landscape, inviting residents, guests and employees in to use the new center. Where to start? There are no sidewalks in yet, which would indicate where plant beds go. There will be walkway lights, and other utilities that I must avoid covering with plants. There is a transformer box that will need to be hidden, and access to an existing transformer will need to be provided. I make note of other utilities such as a water faucet, which could come in handy. I know the sun will reach the area most of the morning, and into the early afternoon in summer. The main entry of the Wellness Center is on the southeast corner of the Valley building, so it will be well protected from cold winds in the winter. Fortunately, the builder provided me with a plan that indicates where the sidewalks, parking spaces, and lights go, and where windows and doors are located on the building. I now know how people will walk into and out of the building, as well as see into, and out of it. There is a large existing Willow Oak that should be saved. 

This is the inventory, and analysis phase of the design now for a concept. It was very hard to come up with a design, but I wanted to simply match the purpose of the building--wellness--to the landscape.  All of the plants in the plan can be used, or were used, for medicinal, herbal, or culinary purposes. The exception is a specimen Japanese maple, and some Encore azaleas--it’s OK to break some rules and not completely follow the concept; I can justify using the azaleas since they tie in nicely with what we have throughout campus. The Japanese maple--when matured--will have a peaceful, sculptural shape to it.  Now it’s time to locate the plants on the plan. I will start out with the trees first, and choose those that meet the criteria for the wellness concept. I place the trees where they will provide shade from the hot summer sun, and also where they will be noticed as people walk into, and out of the building.

Ready to Feast? Thanksgiving Dining Options Aplenty!

Every Thanksgiving, Springmoor puts on a traditional meal in each dining room from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. If that’s not on your agenda this year, there are plenty of other places to get together with family and friends. Over the past few weeks, both The News and Observer and WRAL have compiled their lists of restaurants with Thanksgiving hours and even those with carry-out options. 

"Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure"

By Kari Richie
Springmoor Health and Fitness Director

Kari Richie

Wellness is more than the absence of disease or sickness. It is an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a healthy and fulfilling life. If we embrace this process and educate ourselves, we are choosing to live a lifestyle of prevention rather than treatment.

One very easy, simple way to prevent disease is to keep on top of health exams and screenings that can help detect issues before they become serious problems. Checkups can also help find problems early, when your chances for treatment and a cure are better. By getting the right health services, screenings and treatments, you are taking steps that help your chances for living a longer, healthier life. Your age, health and family history, lifestyle choices (i.e. what you eat, how active you are, whether you smoke) and other important factors impact what and how often you need healthcare.

Springmoor's Medical Director Moonlights as Award-Winning Photographer

Dr. Edmundson poses next to one of his photographs hanging
in a Springmoor exam room

Most people around Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community know Dr. Wells Edmundson as the community’s longtime medical director, whom they trust to care for their aches and pains. But, outside the community and the medical field, Edmundson is known for something else: nature photography.

“Being a doctor feeds your family, and being a photographer feeds your soul, but I get a lot of satisfaction out of both,” Edmundson says. “If a picture falls off a wall and breaks—nobody cares about that; if you get it wrong with a patient, that’s a whole different story.”

Springmoor Floral Focal Points: Trees and Shrubs for Fall Leaf Color

By Thom Morgan, Springmoor landscape manager 

Thom Morgan

After summer winds down, those of us living in the Northern Temperate Latitudes get treated to one last burst of color as leaves on trees begin to change. Daylight decreases from 15 hours to—eventually—10, causing leaves to compensate for the decrease in light; green chlorophyll fades as the other plant pigments stand out to produce red, orange and yellow. Finally, leaves drop due to what is called an abscission layer, which forms and allows leaves to break away.

Trees for fall leaf color: