When Pat Poole moved into Wesley Place on Honeysuckle, she didn’t expect to become an unofficial community gardener. But thanks to a gift from her grandchildren—and more than a little help from God—Pat has discovered a way to keep both her hands and her heart full.

It all started with a single rose bush, a Mother’s Day gift from her grandchildren not long after moving to Wesley Place. The backyard patio at her apartment didn’t offer enough space to properly plant it for flourishing, so Pat asked if she could place it in a nearby garden spot where she could still admire it from her patio. With staff approval, the rose bush found a new home—and soon it had company.

“I thought it looked lonely,” Pat said. So she added another rose bush… then another… and now, the patch has grown into a full-fledged rose garden with eleven thriving bushes. “It gives me something to do, as roses need lots of water.”

But for Pat, gardening is about more than blooms. It's about connection. She turned one patch of soil into a fairy garden, complete with whimsical gnomes, catching the eye of a visitor who now plans to bring his granddaughter by for a look. Other residents at Wesley Place have started planting their own flowers and patio gardens, proudly posing with their handiwork and sharing gardening tips. It’s catching on, and residents are growing friendships as well as flowers.

Her roots in Dothan go deep. Pat’s family moved to the area from Massachusetts in 1949 when she was eight years old, and her mother found a passion for gardening that became part of her Southern lifestyle. Years later, Pat is carrying on that legacy—watering her roses, watching them bloom, and deeply relying on divine help. “When God waters them,” she emphasized, “He does a much better job than I do.”

Pat’s green thumb isn’t her only contribution to community life. Last fall, she gathered pecans from the trees on campus and sold them to raise money for the Employee Christmas Fund. “I didn’t like to see them go to waste,” she said, and with her roses going dormant for the season, “It gave me something else to do.”

After careers with both the Department of Human Resources and Trinity Lutheran Church (her family was one of the founding families), Pat has officially retired twice. But at Wesley Place on Honeysuckle, she’s still growing—nurturing beauty, building community, and inspiring others to bloom where they’re planted.