On a sunny and peaceful July evening, GoodGym volunteers Roxy and Barbara visited the Beehive Residential Care Home to lend a helping hand in the beautiful garden cared for by Margaret, one of the home’s most cherished residents.

Margaret, known for her dedication and green thumb, spends hours lovingly tending to the garden so that all the residents can enjoy its colour, calm, and life. Her enthusiasm and pride in the space are infectious, and it was a joy for Roxy and Barbara to work alongside her.

The team got stuck into some gentle weeding and pruning, working together to clear away overgrowth and make the flowerbeds shine again. Laughter and stories were shared between snips of secateurs, with Margaret offering expert guidance and a warm smile throughout.

To ensure safety, Roxy and Barbara thoughtfully placed a bright cone over a tripping hazard they spotted in the garden — a small but important gesture to help keep Margaret and other residents safe while they enjoy the outdoor space.

The hour flew by, and as the garden looked neater and more vibrant, there was a real sense of shared achievement. It was a perfect example of what community connection and kindness can bring.

Thank you to Margaret for welcoming the GoodGym team so warmly — we can’t wait to return and see what’s blooming next!

This week, three caring GoodGymers — Barbara Roxy, and Paula headed to Beehive Care Home in Ferring to lend a hand to Margaret, a resident with a true passion for gardening.

Margaret had found it difficult to settle into her new home, having left behind the beautiful garden she’d lovingly tended for many years. But rather than give up her green-fingered ways, she took it upon herself to transform the communal garden at Beehive into something both pretty and purposeful — a place residents can enjoy and connect with nature.

With secateurs in hand and smiles on their faces, the GoodGym trio joined Margaret to help prune and tidy the garden, giving the plants space to thrive and restoring some order to the borders. Margaret’s joy was clear to see — a little teamwork went a long way in helping her feel supported and proud of her growing garden project.

It was a small but powerful act of kindness, showing how community and connection can help things — and people — bloom.

-Thank you to Barbara, Roxy, and Paula for helping out tonight and a big shoutout to Margaret for her inspiring dedication to bringing beauty and life to her new home. 🌸**

*Summer washout *

With the drizzle coming down even before we arrived it was like a ray of sunshine to see Margaret standing eagerly awaiting us. A drop of rain doesn't stop her ! In fact she didn't seem to notice. Margaret had asked to pop back to help her with the final phase of the garden that she had started when she first moved into the home last August.

Having moved from her own beautiful garden it took Margaret a while to settle in but having this new garden to transform has really helped her feel happier together with it being a huge benefit to the other residents and staff too. She brought loads of cuttings from her own garden and filled up the new borders with beautiful perennials. So very talented !

Roxy, Barbara and I carried out Margaret's requests to weed and prune the bits she found tricky to do herself. 40 minutes later, and much to her delight we were all done and she proudly invited us into the conservatory for refreshments and a natter!

A real feel good task tonight ! We will return next year ( if not before) to give our favourite resident another hand.

What a joy

What an absolute joy to return to this task for our second visit.

Margaret was ready and waiting at the gate to let us in. What a wonderful surprise we had. Since our last visit Margaret has worked miracles to present an absolutely wonderful garden. Her presence spills over in every way to provide a calm, tranquil and beautiful space to enjoy her enduring work.

Barbara Paula Daisy and I contributed in a small way to support Margaret with her aspirations and vision for the garden which she has adopted as her own in her new home.

Tasks like these don't come much more special ❤️

Julia xx

The feel good task

This has to go down as one of my most favourite tasks in my recent memory.

We had been referred to offer some help to Beehive Care Home to give some help with their garden. They have a very special resident called Margaret who used to work in various aspects of horticulture including market gardening and, more recently floristry. Moving to this care home last September, Margaret, by her own admission. did take a while to settle in but she was determined to make it work. Luckily for the other residents this amazing resident has taken on the garden to keep her busy both mentally and physically, and my goodness, she has achieved an amazing result.

Barbara and I took our instructions from Margaret who requested that we clear a bed of bulbs and a few shrubs together with moving some heavy pots for her to fill. While we worked we took the opportunity to find out more about Margaret's life. Sadly she was widowed over 30 years ago when her husband was just 61 :( She was so interesting to chat with and we discovered several similarities. She lived next door but one to my mother in father in law for many years plus her daughter lives just down the road from me ( in the same street) I could have chatted to her for much longer - she must have a huge selection of life stories to share.

With the light going we packed up and made sure Margaret was safely looked after to ensure she got tucked up inside again.

A P.S to this task was that the home manager called me today to pass on her most greatful thanks for our visit. She conveyed that, in her own words, Margaret was too excited to sleep last night, She was so happy we went and loved that we helped her .What was even nicer was that she passed the phone to Margaret and we had another lovely chat. Shes looking forward to seeing us again next month when we will return to help with the garden at the back of the home.