This month, Plantation Village is hosting an open house to showcase our Garden Club and Hobby Shop, two top favorites among residents. Both exemplify the community’s focus on creating a comfortable, pleasant environment.

“It’s the people here that make the difference,” Garden Club Director Art Curry said of his decision to move to Plantation Village. “Everyone here had such diverse and interesting careers. You never know who you will meet when you go to dinner.”

Art, a retired college professor, and his wife, Sandy, relocated to Plantation Village in 2006 after spending 44 years in the Washington, D.C. area.

He helps the club’s 24 active members stay organized and ensures supplies are on hand. One of his chief concerns in moving to a Life Plan Community like Plantation Village was having outdoor space to roam and get his hands dirty.

“Now, all I have to worry about is what to do with all these tomatoes, blueberries, potatoes and cucumbers,” he joked.

Art’s concern is the why the Garden Club was first established, and why it continues to bear the name of Francis Houts, who petitioned the Plantation Village board to set aside a place for residents 10 years ago. With status as a nonprofit, the board is always looking for new ways to reinvest the community’s earnings back into refining its services and amenities.

As a result, there is now a spacious, wheelchair-accessible garden on approximately a half acre and surrounded by a privacy fence to ward off wildlife. A variety of plots are available, from ground plots to raised beds and table gardens.

Each plot has access to running water and a storage shed, and there are two large compost bins for shared organic fertilizer. Operations are facilitated by a Plantation Village memorial fund specifically set aside for the Garden Club.

A quick stroll through the garden and it’s easy to see why so many works of art are inspired by the natural beauty on display. One artist with a talent for replicating the complexity of nature is resident Bill Donaldson, who is often found in the woodworking and hobby shop, whittling away at a block of wood.

All of Bill’s pieces shine like he has applied a protective coat of polyurethane. In reality, this comes from many hours he spends sanding the wood.

Fellow craftsmen Jim Wolle and Ron Foster are equally talented. Ron is the go-to guy in Plantation Village when furniture needs to be repaired, refurbished or created from scratch, while Jim makes really intricate and cool nut crackers.

These artists share a focus on helping others, so each piece is either donated to a local church or sold in the gift shop at The Davis Community to fund operations there. And they appreciate that the shop exists and is filled with every tool imaginable. That relief of not having to leave anything behind is a bond they also share with Garden Club members.

Owning a home takes work but part of the reward is the freedom to have a garden or workshop. At Plantation Village, we constantly look for new ways to ensure our residents have access to all the comforts of home, plus world-class health care and resort-like amenities, while being free from the drudgery of home maintenance. For more information, please call (910) 319-1416, or visit www.PlantationVillageRC.com.

Lisa Polanski is the director of marketing at Plantation Village, a non-profit continuing care retirement community that offers independent living on a 56-acre campus in Porters Neck, just minutes from downtown Wilmington and area beaches. Residents enjoy first-class services in a wide variety of home styles, from one- and two-bedroom apartments to cottage homes and two-bedroom villas. Plantation Village is managed by Life Care Services™, the nation’s third-largest elder care management company.