Captivating Cosmos in the garden at Wardington House.
“When you give someone a bunch of cosmos flowers, you’re giving them the Universe”.
Welcome to Wardington House’s latest newsletter
Did you know that the word “cosmos” comes from the Greek word kosmos (κόσμος), which means “order”, “arrangement”, or “harmony”. It feels that mother nature intended these meanings and with Summer slowly wilting away she shows off her most spectacular harmonious arrangement yet with her creative cosmos display here at Wardington House. A display as uniquely spectacular as the Universe itself.
Activities
Have you been building sand castles this summer with your grandchildren/children, enjoyed fish and chips on a pier or been searching for shells? Being nearly the furthest location point, in England, from the coast, means we have had to improvise with our Seaside theme.
We didn’t build sand castles but we had just as much fun creating sand bottles with the most unusual coloured sand which sparked interesting conversation and smiles.
We continued to put our fine motor skills to work by creating mosaic seaside themed pictures.
Seaside picnic anyone… well we had a seaside themed afternoon tea with a selection of savoury and sweet goodies minus the distractions of sandy food and seagulls!
And of course a seaside trip would not be complete without fish and chips. Just the thought of it makes your mouth water! Residents enjoyed a fish and chips lunch from a local fish and chip shop – delicious!
Emma’s Update
“This month with everything being so dry, for such a long time, a lot of the plants are showing signs of stress. They are all in a race to flower and go to seed as quickly as possible to ensure their future survival. The trees and shrubs also are losing leaves and in some cases branches in an attempt to survive by having less bulk to hydrate.
The rain has finally made an appearance though, and fingers crossed it will help them all survive, but we will need an awful lot to replenish the water table, rivers and lakes.
During a few hot days I took the opportunity to spend some time with the house plants, repotting, feeding, cleaning their leaves and washing the pots. Those that ended up in bigger pots often could not fit back where they had come from, so many of them have also been subjected to a botanical version of musical chairs (windowsills).
The damp weather gave us a great excuse to spend a bit of time in the shelter of the potting shed – taking and potting up cuttings. There is something so satisfying in growing new plants for free and the excess plants will go on the sale table next summer.”
Dead heading is nearly a daily task now with the flowers going over so quickly in the heat. We are also now cutting a few flowers for the house which is an even better job. I love filling up the buckets with beautiful blooms and bringing a bit of the garden into the home so all the residents get to enjoy the colourful flowers.
“If you are visiting in the next few weeks do look out for fledgling swallows learning to fly. The chicks in the nest in the maintenance barn will all be in the air soon.”
The Month Ahead
From the seaside to the hustle and bustle of city life – ‘London’ will be the theme at the start of September. Iconic buildings, the Royal Family, the West End, transport, songs… this theme offers a variety of different activity opportunities. A Chelsea Bun afternoon tea will also fit in nicely.
Not quite London Zoo but still the opportunity to see some exotic creatures you don’t see everyday – Zoolab will be visiting on Tuesday 9th September at 1.30pm.
We also have the delight of welcoming a new PAT dog, Josie! She will be visiting fortnightly on a Wednesday afternoon. Her first visit is 2.15pm, Wednesday 10th September. Look out for the photos in next month’s newsletter.
Then even more animals… Lucia’s Tiny Farm is always a wonderful experience for the residents with a variety of soft animals to snuggle up to. We are very much looking forward to their visit on Tuesday, 16th September at 1.45pm.
Then to finish off our animal visits this month, the ponies will be visiting on Tuesday 23rd September, at 2pm, to make up for not visiting last month due to the hot weather conditions.
As we make our way to the end of September can you believe we are officially going to be in Autumn! As sad as it is, that summer is coming to an end, Autumn is warmly welcomed here at Wardington House with so many eye-catching, cosy colours amongst the grounds and the variety of activities it offers.
There will be plenty of arts and crafts and also rides out in the car and minibus to see this spectacular season start to surprise us with its transforming effect.
We will be making autumn themed biscuits then have the opportunity to taste some sweet cinnamon treats at an Autumn themed coffee morning.
The following regular activities will also take place this month:
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Singing with Tristan Pate (weekly) and Katie Holland (monthly)
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Exercise Classes with Alfie (fortnightly)
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Bonnie the Dog visits (fortnightly)
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Afternoon tea at Harley Equestrian Cafe (monthly)
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In-house Church Services (weekly)
Jane Worrall, who has worked as an administrator in our office for eleven years, is retiring this month. We wish her well and will miss her cheery voice. Thank you Jane!
Care at Wardington House
If there is anyone you know, who might need our care, please tell them about us and we will be happy to help.
Wardington House Contact Information:
Telephone: 01295 750622
This goes to the office during the working day, or to the nurses’ office during evenings and weekends.
For general or administration queries, please email Jane Worrall at: [email protected]
For Accounts, please email Julie Linzey at: [email protected]
For George Tuthill, please email: [email protected]
Compiled and edited by Gemma Shaw
