Upon entering the gate
The public entrance is at the SE corner of the property. The first thing guests see on the left is the Lodge, where nurses, family members and those that come to "Rest & Study" stay.
There is a lot of soil missing from the front of the Lodge area, I think due to some years of drought. We do have drains throughout the property and they are all in good order. There is a 13-foot slope from the main buildings on the north side of the property down to the Lodge.
Looking for ideas for ground cover and how to implement that with the soil condition. Later, we might like ideas on how to start improving this high visibility area on the left as it makes the first impression. I am happy to start or propagate plants if you have any suggestions.
East Wing entrance (Private nursing)
The East Wing entrance faces South/SW. We would love to have more ground cover near the walkway to the door. There is an outdoor faucet here.
West Wing entrance (Public entrance)
The West Wing main entrance faces South. This is the entrance used for all business, events, residents, guests, etc.
We would love some ideas for ground cover here too but also anything else we can get started to make our entrance look special. There is an outdoor faucet here.
West Wing resident patios
These resident room patios face west. Ground cover would be great here too. We'd like to camouflage the chainlink fence in view on the north side. This backs up to a neighborhood cul-de-sac type drive where the city parks their equipment from construction projects. Sometimes cars are "parked" or abandoned here so we would love to grow a vine on this fence for a little more privacy. There is drip installed along the chainlink fence. There is an outdoor faucet by the patios.
Garden and wildflower field
West Wing resident rooms look out into our garden area.
Prayer garden at back of property
This is a more private area at the back (north) side between the two adjoining East and West Wing buildings. Ambulance/new patient entrance is just to the left. Patients that want to get outside, but not necessarily interact with anyone else can step outside the door and enjoy this area.
Same problem with bare dirt areas and lots of shade. This area started flooding and we discovered that the lawn crew had started mowing the leaves instead of raking them and this caused the drain to clog. There is a make-shift cover on the drain for now. We lost a wonderful dogwood tree here during those flooding times.
It would be a great start to improve the area just outside the glass door and along the path to the bench. Would be great to know what else might work in this shady area. We have talked about putting up some lattice type privacy panels along the sidewalk to cover up the ugly parking lot view.
Apartments and Lodge
Returning to the front entrance, there are 8 apartments (for staff) and again, the Lodge and pool. Just a few more shots of not-so-great areas.
Central view of the property
I stood in the middle to try and give an overview of the property. :-)