Luxury Living in Full Bloom: Coterie Residents Flex Their Green Thumbs with the Hudson Yards Garden Club

“There’s something universal about gardening because everyone has some connection to nature,” says Catherine Graham-Kohler, a Horticulture Therapist at the NYU Langone Medical Center. “Even for people who haven’t really gardened before, you don’t need any special skills. You just need to like spending time with plants.”

Graham-Kohler oversees the garden club meetings at Coterie Hudson Yards, along with Janet Coelho, a volunteer getting her certificate from NY Botanical Garden.

Graham-Kohler finds that plants give residents an engaging opportunity to come together and share experiences.

“It’s a very social group, which is a big part of the fun,” she says. “I’ll come in with different plants from week to week and offer some interesting facts about each one, but the conversations tend to take on a life of their own, which is great.” For some residents, the club provides an opportunity to continue pursuing their passion for gardening while living in the middle of Manhattan.

“At my country house, right on the New York-Connecticut border, I used to be out gardening every day,” said Oliver during a recent garden club meeting. “I planted petunias and zinnias in the late spring that would bloom over the summer, and I also had a bunch of chrysanthemums that would bloom in the autumn.”

Gesturing to the peperomia he was planting in a geometric terrarium, he added, “My garden here is obviously smaller than that one, but it’s nice slowly building a mini garden to take care of in my room.”

Nearby, another resident, Ginger, tended to her Christmas cactus, a plant native to Brazil that features broad, tooth-edged fronds with red and pink flowers.

Graham-Kohler hopes that in the future, it might be possible to create a resident garden out on the 13th floor patio, noting that senior living community gardens can expand some of the benefits of horticulture therapy from the gardeners to their fellow residents.

“It would be great to be able to do some gardening in the sun,” she says, “especially with this beautiful view of the city.”

The Benefits of Horticulture Therapy

NYU Langone Health has long been at the forefront of integrating innovative horticulture therapies into senior care. Its pilot program in the 1970s was one of the first in the nation to explore the health benefits of gardening for seniors, and it quickly demonstrated that engaging with plants and gardens can significantly reduce senior stress, improve mood, and enhance cognitive function.

Gardening and aging well often go hand in hand, as gardening activities can help maintain dexterity, coordination, and muscle strength while also reducing discomfort from arthritis and other chronic pain conditions. Light exercise such as planting, watering, and weeding promotes circulation and cardiovascular health. Exposure to soil microbes can boost the immune system and reduce inflammation.

Caring for plants also provides a meaningful daily routine that helps stimulate the brain, reduce stress, and foster a sense of purpose. Community gardening and gardening clubs give seniors the opportunity to build lasting social connections.

“One of the great things about horticulture therapy is how versatile it is,” says Graham-Kohler. “You can bring people together to make it a social activity, you can have very intellectual conversations about different types of plants, or you can just spend a half-hour gardening because it’s a relaxing activity involving nature.”

She adds that there are special cognitive and social benefits for memory care residents or seniors recovering from strokes.

“Working with plants can trigger memories for people and help them connect,” she says. “For the holidays, we made an ornament using cinnamon powder and apple sauce and soon one person is talking about how they grew up with apple trees in the backyard and another person says the cinnamon reminds them of something their grandmother used to make for Christmas. Just about everyone has some personal connection to plants and flowers in their background.”