POTTSVILLE, Pa. — gardening club in Schuylkill County had a bunch of plants left over from a sale that was canceled because of the coronavirus. So, they decided to donate them to those who are working on the front lines.
Over the past two plus months, front-line workers at Lehigh Valley Hospital - Schuylkill have spent a lot of time indoors, caring for sick patients during the pandemic. A local club wanted to help give them a little escape.
"Gardening is in our hearts. One of the things you can do at this time is garden because garden tends to be a solitary or just a small unit of people," said Jane Kruse, a member of the South Schuylkill Garden Club.
The South Schuylkill Garden Club, which has been around for nearly eight decades, donated salsa and brochetta planters to members of the intensive care unit at the hospital in Pottsville. These pots grow almost all of the ingredients needed for employees to make their own salsa and brochetta recipes from the comfort of their own yards.
"We had excess plants because we usually have a plant sale. (The) plant sale didn't happen because it was canceled because of coronavirus, and we felt that we could help the community," said club member Carol Haldeman.
With the weather turning, those who received the plants say this is the perfect activity for a little escape.
"Our patients are always on our minds even when we're done for the day. But you know we need our downtime too, to get home and kind of just let everything go and a lot of us do garden. And, you know, we're always planting in our flowerbeds and bringing stuff in to share," said Sarah Mahalchick, RN.
It looks like some plans are already being made to get these plants in the ground this weekend.