Thomas, WV – We are truly blessed in the Mountain State with the splendor of vibrant seasons, and spring time must certainly be the reason we are known as Almost Heaven. “Biologists point out that few other temperate mountain landscapes undergo such seasonal extremes in temperature,” explains contributing writer for wvexplorer.com Katie Johns, “and few grow as green as West Virginia in spring.”
Loyal members of The Mountaineer Garden Club, from Parsons, has been applying their green thumb all over the county since 1958, and most recently helping Cortland Acres and residents of The Pines and Pineview communities become farmers. Garden Club volunteers have been making the weekly pilgrimage to Cortland’s high tunnel greenhouse to plan, hoe, plant and fuss over rows and rows of vegetables ranging from standard plants such as lettuce, broccoli and peppers to more regional favorites like kale, rhubarb and shallots.
Residents of the Cortland community have taken advantage of the expertise the Garden Club volunteers supply to increase their yield and broaden their variety of crops. Cortland Acres has already begun to utilize harvested produce to provide additional fresh options in the Cortland Café. “Our Club members are enjoying learning and growing with the residents of Cortland Acres,” explains Shomo. “This is a fun project.”
As Cortland’s Vision 2030 outlined, a second green house and various fruit orchards will complement the expanded campus and provide even more opportunity for resident participation and “farm to table” benefits. “What a feeling of satisfaction to harvest vegetables from our own high tunnel/greenhouse and to serve them to our residents!” explains Cortland Director of Development Dan Bucher. “The members of the Mountaineer Garden Club truly have green thumbs and mighty warm hearts!”
The mission of the Mountaineer Garden Club is “to protect and conserve the natural resources of the planet Earth and promise to promote education so we may become caretakers of our air, water, forest, land and wildlife” and is evident in every project they undertake. With the goal of increasing adult and youth membership as well as working to obtain a Blue Star designation for Parsons, the Mountaineer Garden Club has hopefully made a lasting and fruitful partnership with Cortland Acres.
Cortland Acres is a non-profit corporation offering state-of-the-art nursing care and skilled rehabilitation on a spacious 35-acre campus is the heart of scenic Tucker County, West Virginia. The Cortland campus includes a 94-bed long-term care facility, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation and therapy options, as well as a variety of independent living opportunities. For more information call 304-463-4181 or visit www.cortlandacres.org.