Help sought to spruce up Healing Garden

Calling all gardeners — beginners and experts. 

Bring your gardening tools and come out and support the BGH Community Healing Garden for the annual Clean Up the Garden Day on Saturday, May 4, beginning at 9 a.m. 

Bonner General Health’s Community Healing Garden is a place of solace for those seeking peace or a tranquil retreat in difficult times. It also serves to honor and remember loved ones who are no longer with us.

With a common goal, residents and volunteers worked to create a place of healing, reflecting the surrounding natural beauty of North Idaho, BGH officials said. 

Now the Healing Garden needs the community's help. The volunteer pool has been dwindling over the last several years and we are reaching out to the community to keep the gardens going and ready for community members to enjoy. The Healing Garden is 100% funded and maintained by donations and volunteers. If you would like to make a donation to keep the gardens thriving, go online to the hospital's website, bonnergeneral.org.

Mary Ann Jeffers, who has been working in the Healing Garden for over 18 years, said she has a deep love for the garden and wants it to go on for many years.

"But we can’t continue to maintain the garden without more help," Jeffers said. "Our volunteers are getting older and want to turn it over to others who are ready and willing to keep the garden going for our community. Without more volunteers, I’m not sure what will happen. This is my last year and I want to see the garden thrive but I can’t do it without more volunteers.”

The garden is divided into easy-to-work sections and volunteers can choose a section and work it from spring through fall. The section leader is responsible for getting volunteers to help in their selected garden plot. Volunteers need to bring their own gardening implements and BGH will supply the rest. We are also looking for someone to maintain the rose bushes throughout the season as well as someone to water the garden on a regular basis. 

Stroll the grounds of the garden and surround yourself with the beauty of nature. Young or old, solemn or joyous, in sickness or in health, the Healing Garden will wrap its arms around you.

If you, or your group, is interested in volunteering, please call Kate McAlister, volunteer services coordinator, at 208-265-1159 or email at kate.mcalister@bonnergeneral.org.