Woman brings garden to life

PHOTO MICHELLE L. START Cypress Cove resident Lois Dunnam picks a cotton blossom in the native plant garden she created at the adult living facility. Lush Blackeyed Susans, Goldenrod, Gaillardia and cotton plants line the land along a lake at Cypress Cove, eliciting a picture of what Florida looked like before it was developed. Although planted just 13 months ago, the native plants have taken root, bloomed and spread their seeds.

The garden was a project resident Lois Dunnam, 79, dreamed up. Her work was recently recognized by the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation.

"When we came here, I felt so much had been destroyed in Florida that if we could replace a little, it would be a plus for the habitat and for the residents," Dunnam said.

Cypress Cove is home to about 450 people in the independent living quarters, 44 in the assisted living facility and an additional 64 in the skilled nursing facility, said Assistant Resident Director Sharon Giebels.

Various studies have linked plants and gardens to improved health benefits. A study at the Sloan Kettering Institute in New York found that women recover quicker from breast cancer surgery if they spend time in a garden. Another study conducted in Pennsylvania from 1972 to 1981 found that patients recovered from gall bladder surgery quicker if they were given rooms that looked out into landscaped gardens.

"At first I couldn't figure out how I was going to do this," said Dunnam. "The only way I could think of was by building a brick walk. I found a brick company on the Internet. I went to the director here and he was very supportive. We started with charging people $50 a brick, but then we figured out that putting in the walk would cost $3,000, so we raised that to $100 a brick."

Residents and their family members can have names engraved on the bricks that line the native plant garden's walkway.

"I put in 125 native plants during the first phase," Dunnam said. "But, we were left with 90 feet of waste area. I thought it would be nice if we took care of that, too."

She went back to residents and two internal organizations donated a total of $2,600. In April, Dunnam planted more than 50 new plants.

There are no pesticides or herbicides used and very little fertilized. All of the plants in the garden are native to Florida and require little watering.

Already, the gardens are drawing in wild life. Monarch butterflies visit the milkweed during season. A bird recently built a nest in one of the trees.

"She has just done an absolutely great job researching all of this and finding the money," said Giebels. "She just took this idea and ran with it."