Terry Slips has more than what you would call a green thumb. She has a prolific and palpable passion for plants.
“A lot of people mistake it for a rubber tree plant, but it’s actually a fiddle-leaf fern,” Terry says during a tour of her collection.
“This is a Norfolk Island pine. And here’s a jade plant,” she adds a moment later.
Terry’s love for all things leafy and green is prominent around Pelican Falls Independent Living on the campus of Good Samaritan Society – Grand Island Village in Nebraska.
“They just speak to me,” Terry says about what drew her to this hobby, which includes plants as old as 35 and 40 years old. “It’s just fascinating how plants grow.”
Plants and cats – two important things
Terry’s collection has grown over the years. She has upwards of 40 plants around Pelican Falls, each one from the sunroom in her home.
“It had room for two chairs and shelves and shelves and shelves of plants,” she says.
Bringing that piece of home to independent living was a prerequisite for choosing to move in.
“I have three cats (Riley, Mika and Samson) and plants. And I had to be able to bring them all with me,” Terry says.
“It was important to me because it's a big part of my life, and I wanted to be able to bring it and continue it. And then I also wanted to share it with the residents because nobody seemed to have any plants. And I just can't imagine going through life without plants. Plants and cats – two really important things.”
Terry’s talent for sprucing up the place isn’t limited to plants. She also adorns the second floor with holiday decorations – also brought from home.
“Everyone's like, ‘Oh man, the decorations upstairs are really cool. Who decorated?’” says Pelican Falls lead cook Heather Weyers. “I'm like, ‘That's Terry. Those are all Terry's decorations.”
“I haven't actually bought anything,” Terry adds. “I had a big house, and I liked to decorate, so I just brought everything with me.”
Room to grow
Terry’s passion is spreading and taking root with others, like a fellow resident who has taken to placing small faux flowers on the shelves outside of residents’ apartments.
“She thought it made it look more welcoming, just like I did,” Terry says.
“It's very neat because I’ve learned different stuff about the plants – how much sunlight they need, how much water they need,” Heather adds. “It makes the day interesting. It makes it exciting.”
Some of those tips also apply to life.
“Patience. Plants don’t grow up overnight,” Terry says with a smile.
Terry says although the temptation is to “go big” with plants, it’s important to get to know them, adding, “all it takes is just a little bit to make a plant happy.”
Every tidbit plants the seeds for budding possibilities, creating opportunities for others to branch out.
“She'll come down and say, ‘Hey, do you need help with anything in the kitchen? Do you need me to help write on the board what today's menu is?’” Heather says.
“It's something that brings me joy. It brings me comradeship. It brings me friendship,” Terry adds. “It just makes you feel good inside that you helped somebody else to feel good inside.”
Terry says connection is something she’s felt since her first tour of Pelican Falls with her son. It makes her feel like part of the family.
“This is my home now,” she says. “This is not just where I live as an old fuddy-duddy. It's my home.”
A home with room to grow.
“I hope I can continue to do this for a long time. And if I can't do it here, I'll do it over in assisted living,” Terry says with a gesture and a laugh. “Then they'll have to put up with me.”
