DAPHNE, Ala.—It was once said that gardening is a mirror of the heart. This adage describes the visionaries, gardeners and garden recently cultivated at Catherine Place, a Mercy Medical assisted-living community.

From inspiration to installment—and all the planning and donations in between—the garden is truly a labor of love, fellowship and excellence.

The recently tilled—and aptly titled—Labor-of-Love Garden, once a barren veranda, is now complete with latticed walls draped in ivy; blooms such as veronicas, knockout roses and Satsuki azaleas line a brick pathway from flowerbed to flowerbed.

Along the recreation hall’s bay window is a stone fountain where coy fish zip between lilies in the pond below.

Mendi Niblett, activities director, designed the garden on paper, and after consulting with residents and landscape professionals she put her plan into action.

“The next thing we knew she was in the bed turning dirt and adding topsoil,” Sally Conlee, Catherine Place program administrator, said. “When Mendi gets an idea, before you know, the idea comes to life.”

The garden’s construction was made possible by dozens of volunteers’ time and energy.

As the garden emerged, residents enjoyed sitting on rockers, overseeing the daily additions, and being available for recommendations.

Cory Niblett, Mendi’s son, dug a path for the brick walkway. Dale Stacy built lattice panels. Betsy Leyser, Catherine Place resident council president, and her family donated a tiered water fountain in memory of her late husband, Col. H. Clay Leyser III.

Many residents donated money for a statue of Saint Francis in memory of the program administrator’s late husband, Tom Conlee. 

“He loved animals and was never without his dogs,” said Conlee. “St. Francis, being the patron saint of animals, is a very fitting tribute to him.”

The people at Catherine Place—like anyone else—enjoy a good party and know how to entertain themselves in style. A recently donated baby-grand piano filled the halls with music as Ted Donley tickled the ivories to a waltz. Nearly everyone tapped their hands and feet in time; some danced with friends and family.

The day was a special celebration, a garden gala, to  commemorate the hard work and sacrifices people have contributed to Catherine Place over the years.

“This place means so much to me,” Mendi Niblett said. “These people are my family. Most people don’t expect to have another family in the early 90s, but that’s what we all try to be here.

“We try to be family.”