Theresa Moore always kept a garden at her home on Park Street in Fayetteville, where she lived with her husband for decades. As she got older, she switched from growing fresh vegetables to raising flowers like daylilies and hostas, which didn't take as much time or physical labor.
When Moore, an ex-Army nurse, moved into the Fayetteville Veterans Home a few years ago, she gave up her garden and tended to four plants that produced "not the best" tomatoes.
Now, at age 92, Moore has another chance at making things grow.
The Fayetteville facility, the state's only veterans home, is working to turn a nearby empty plot into a "Veterans Victory Garden" for its residents.
"I'm really looking forward to getting out there and working," Moore said. "I like all the fresh vegetables we can get, and I like being outside. I think I'd stay out all day if I could."
The garden will be on a section of land approximately 180-by-80 feet near West North Street and North Woolsey Avenue, about a block from the veterans home. The home takes up an annex and the top two floors of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences-Northwest at West North Street and College Avenue.
The idea for the garden started with Kriss Schaffer, who was hired last year to administer -- and overhaul -- the home. Schaffer's predecessor, Sarah Robinson, was fired in November 2013 after the facility was cited by the state Office of Long Term Care numerous times.
Soon after, it was discovered that the facility was operating at a monthly deficit of $84,000.
A garden will be the next in a series of improvements, which included increasing the number of residents, paying off debt, bettering food service, hiring nurses and housekeepers and establishing a partnership with UAMS to have medical students work in the facility.
"It's really a creative, innovative project that improves the quality of life of veterans up there," said Matt Snead, the director of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs, which operates the home. Schaffer has "done wonders since he's been there, for the home and for the residents."
UAMS, the Washington County Extension Office, Lowe's, the nearby Washington Regional Cancer Support Home and the Northwest Arkansas chapter of the Military Officers Association of America are helping with the project.
UAMS owns the land where the garden will be, and it will let veterans use it at no cost, Schaffer said. Ryan Worley, manager of the cancer support home, told Schaffer they could use water from the cancer home for the garden.
Lowe's will donate tools; the military officers chapter is providing a tiller; and master gardeners with the extension office will advise the veterans what to grow, when and how.
Others in Northwest Arkansas have contacted Schaffer about donating seeds and plants. One of the home's nurses, who is a beekeeper, will set up a couple of beehives, Schaffer said.
"It's truly a community effort," Schaffer said. "The residents are all talking about it. One today was telling me he knew the secrets to growing the best tomato plants, and some ladies were telling me about planting marigolds -- they're all so excited about it."
Berni Kurz, a Washington County Extension agent, said the lot is currently covered in "invasive" Bermuda grass. Workers will kill the grass and wait for a few weeks before tilling the ground, Kurz said.
"Then the planting will commence," he said.
Larry Jundt, a 71-year-old Vietnam veteran, said he remembers growing up just miles from the Canadian border in Minot, N.D. In the summers, he would search through his grandmother's garden, looking for the biggest watermelon or cucumber.
Jundt, now in a wheelchair, said he's looking forward to sitting in some shade near the garden, watching others enjoy it.
"I'm just excited to see the smiles on the faces of the people who go out there," Jundt said. "We might have to have those big cucumbers and watermelon. Especially watermelon -- I love it."
Metro on 03/23/2015