The team that keeps Roxburghe House blooming

“I enjoy arranging flowers,” said Fiona. “And volunteering here gives me an opportunity to play around and try different things. I like white and greens but you can achieve amazing things with foliage alone.”

Stella agrees: “I don’t have any particular favourites when it comes to the flowers – it’s the combination of flowers and foliage, the colours and the textures that make it so fascinating.”

Floral displays was one of the services that paused during the pandemic and has only been back in operation since the end of August but already everyone will have noticed the difference their artistic efforts have made.

Recruitment has boosted the number on the team into double figures since then, and there are still four members of the original bloom squad – Stella and Fiona, as well as Tracey and Jackie. 

They have many years of dedicated service, and Jackie actually volunteered at the original Roxburghe House site at Milltimber, before the move to Foresterhill in 2004.

A week in flowers

The team works on a rotational basis, and Fiona laughs that sometimes they can tell who has been the creative force behind that week’s arrangements when they walk in.

The flowers are delivered early on a Friday morning from flower wholesalers J van Vliet Aberdeen.

The flower volunteers come in on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, changing water, deadheading and re-arranging to keep the blooms in top condition.

The flowers can be of any variety, from carnations and roses to all types of seasonal foliage.

The bill for the flowers is picked up by Friends of Roxburghe House and the flower volunteers take on the task of making – and keeping – them look beautiful.

Artistic inspiration

You can see their work throughout Roxburghe House. As well as the reception and coffee area, there are displays in the spiritual room and at the nurses’ station.

When the staff in the day unit saw the flower arrangements in the main hospital areas, they asked for an arrangement for themselves, as it could be used for inspiration for drawing and painting as well as discussions on the changing seasons and colours.

But the work doesn’t stop there. In the past, they have put on Christmas workshops in the day unit as part of the build-up to the festive lunch. And they’ve even been known to put on fun team-building workshops for the nursing staff.

They also look after patients’ own flowers so if they get flowers, the team changes the water and freshens up the flowers to keep them looking their best.

Floral donations

They are also lucky sometimes to benefit from donations from florists. After events, thoughtful businesses sometimes donate arrangements that are surplus to requirements to give them a second life at Roxburghe House.

A recent example were the gorgeous yellow orchids from Isla Duncan which made stunning displays against the purple backdrop in the newly refurbished reception area.

The flower team is currently made up of 10 volunteers – all female so far, although they are actively recruiting…

And despite historically finding members from local flower clubs like Aberdeen and County Floral Group, floral artistry skills are not necessarily required! If you’re interested in joining this talented bunch, find out more here.