 The
idea for Bouquets-on-
Wheels came from Granny's experience
with her own mother receiving Meals-on-Wheels.
The Meals program helps her family to allow her 90 year old mother, Audra,
to remain in her own home. Roberta planted a picking garden at her mother's
house so they could tend it together on her weekly visits. It became a
part of their routine to pick flowers to deliver to the neighbors.
One day, they picked a bouquet for the volunteer
who delivered her mother's meals. It occurred to Roberta that it
would be nice to be able to share the flowers with the other people he
delivered meals to. After that, each week they would prepare six
bouquets for the people the volunteer delivered to after leaving Audra's.
When she started the school garden program, Roberta initiated Bouquets-
on-Wheels. The photo above is of Audra, at 85 years old, pulling
weeds on a visit to the gardens. She turned 90 this year (2007). Each week, a class prepares fifty miniature bouquets
that are inserted in florist water tubes to keep them fresh. They are picked
up by a Meals-on-Wheels driver then delivered along with the meals.
Each child makes two bouquets and draws pictures or writes short notes
on small cards and signs their names. Then the cards are tied to the tubes
with raffia.
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