How gardening is keeping a group of seniors in Alexandria healthy, active and social
The Landing is a boutique-style senior living center in busting Alexandria and thanks to the residents, their roof-top garden is thriving!
By Kaitlyn McGrath
WUSA 9
October 23, 2023
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — When The Landing senior living residences opened up in Alexandria a year and a half ago, it offered every luxury amenity and feature community members could hope for —except for a garden. The Dirt Diggers group was born, and now their rooftop terrace is bursting with color.
“To me it’s a therapeutic activity,” explains Ginger Wilkening, a resident at The Landing. “You’re working with nature and you’re getting the benefit of seeing all the beautiful flowers afterwards. Plus, with our group here there’s a lot of fellowship that’s developed and we all enjoy getting out.”
Ginger was one of the founding members of the Dirt Diggers and gave WUSA9 a tour of their little piece of paradise in the middle of bustling Alexandria.
“When we first moved there were boxwoods here but I was missing the colors from the flowers,” Ginger said. “A lot of us wanted to get back into gardening. We love gardening, so we came here and different people adopted different boxes and they could choose what they wanted to plant.”
From flowers to herbs and vegetables that all residents are welcome to. Even the in house chef takes advantage of the fresh veggies.
“We’ve got some peppers in here and lots of tomatoes,” explains Ginger. “The tomatoes really liked it up here.”
Their growing gardens also attract some welcome visitors.
