Volunteers Plant Therapeutic Garden on Grounds of Newport County Community Mental Health

MIDDLETOWN, RI —Rows of yellow and pink mums, decorative grasses and flowering shrubs went into the ground Friday, all part of a new therapeutic garden.

The garden sits in a spot on the west side of the Newport County Community Mental Health Center. It's a place where the therapists often take the children in treatment outside for a game of catch.

Seeing that activity from his office, Julio Mendez, the center's groundskeeper, came up with an idea.

Why not plant a garden there for everyone to enjoy, including the staff who need a quiet place to relax from a difficult session?

Mendez talked up the idea with Jamie Lehane, the center's president and chief executive officer. According to Lehane, the groundskeeper knew Blue Cross offers grants to non-profit organizations for such projects. With the center's support, he applied.

The garden was one of 13 winning projects, according to Melanie Coon, one of the Blue Cross team captains.

Mendez also created the design. Landscaper Carin Cook, of Hesford Landscaping in Johnston, picked out the flowers and plants, and Blue Cross volunteers, like Jonathan Finn, of Foxboro, Mass., came down with co-workers from Providence to do the digging and building.

Finn has participated for five years in the company's Blue Across Rhode Island day of service. On Friday, the volunteers were helping out in 13 communities.

In Middletown, the health insurer contributed the volunteer labor and $10,000 to build the garden, a gazebo, a deck and some fencing.

The garden also has picnic benches and a fountain.

Mendez wanted to mention a local antique company, Newport's Aardvark, which helped finance the fountain.

"They had it in the store," he said and "donated a decent portion of the cost for us."

Lehane said the health center, on Johnny Cake Road, is open 9 a.m. through 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and serves Middletown, Newport, Portsmouth, Jamestown, Tiverton, and Little Compton. No appointment is necessary. Anyone can come in and be seen by a specialist, he said.

Caption1 : Garden in progress on Friday at the mental health center.

Caption 2: Blue Cross volunteers build the therapeutic garden.

Caption 3: Dyan Daley, a nurse at Blue Cross, transfers a potted plant to the earth.

Credit: Margo Sullivan