Wise, however, can’t work in the gardens like she used to, and she’s concerned about the grounds she has cherished for so many years. One of the gardens was created in honor of her daughter, Amy.
The gardens are at risk, she said, as Four Seasons hospice doesn’t have funds for a landscaper. Donations and volunteers are necessary to keep the gardens as beautiful as Wise built them up to be.
There is “tons of mulching” to be done, she said. There’s also trimming and weeding. Monetary gifts are “desperately needed,” she added.
“There has to be a leader,” Wise said.
The gardens are dependent on donations and volunteer hours to keep them vibrant, and Wise has been the cog in that machine. Before she started working at the gardens, they weren’t nearly as colorful, Four Seasons CEO Chris Comeaux said.
“There were just grass and dirt in a lot of cases,” he said.
The scenery has been transformed in the last 11 years, and the gardens play a large role in what Four Seasons is trying to accomplish at the Elizabeth House, Comeaux said. The hospice is trying to create an atmosphere to comfort families and clients during one of the toughest moments in their lives.
Wise could be seen daily working in the gardens with her white lab coat on. Clients and their family members would watch from the windows as she breathed life into the gardens. Often people would come out and give her donations. Those donations would sometimes be $50 or even $100.
“They would walk out and watch me work,” Wise said.
Clients weren’t the only ones looking out for her. Comeaux and other hospice employees loved having Wise there on a daily basis. Wise, with her garden tools and a smile, was a welcome sight, Comeaux said.
“It’s kind of like one of those moments when you know everything in life is okay,” he said about driving up and seeing her in the gardens.
Wise’s father took her to a flower show when she was 17. She spent days with her grandmother, who instilled in her a love of landscaping.
“I’d make a beeline to her shed and get an old mower out,” Wise said.
She spent decades learning the craft of vibrant landscaping. In 2010, her home at Lake Pointe Landing earned the Residential Landscaping Award from the city of Hendersonville.
“She has a gift,” Comeaux said. “When Ardy gardens, it’s her passion. It’s who she is.”
To donate or volunteer at Four Seasons Hospice and the Elizabeth House, visit www.fourseasonscfl.org or call 828-692-6178.
Reach Millwood at 828-694-7881 or at joey.millwood@blueridgenow.com.
Speak Your Mind