When Friends of Hopewell acquired the Hopewell House property from Legacy Health in 2022, the grounds, comprising over 4 acres, were long neglected and overgrown. Nevertheless, several visionaries on the team saw the chaotic landscape and envisioned a peaceful, healing oasis for hospice residents, their families, and staff members who care for them.
Among the botanical dreamers were two master gardener/health professionals: Andrea Speck-Zulak, RNC NP, and Lisa Gillespie, OTR/L. Andrea and Lisa had experience creating healing gardens at other healthcare facilities, including at Providence St. Vincent. Both strongly believe in the healing power of nature, and both were committed to creating Hopewell Gardens out of the chaos.
“At first, looking at the outside area as one big ‘whole’ was overwhelming,” said Andrea. “Fortunately, the lay of the land suggested distinct areas—rooms—which we could tackle one by one. Looking at the outside area as a series of rooms meant each area could fit a distinct need or mood: contemplation, conversation or meandering. And some of the land was left in a natural state for viewing and exploring.”
Not only did the rooms make sense from a design perspective, a positive side effect emerged. Suddenly, a project that had looked overwhelming had been separated into workable pieces.
The design, plant purchasing, and placing of plants were done by Lisa and Andrea, but the garden volunteers did all of the hard work of moving soil, adding rocks, removing laurel, adding jute to slopes, spreading mulch and actual planting. It is this nurturing team that brought the gardens to fruition.
Here are four examples of how the rooms took shape and some of the challenges the volunteer garden team worked through.
Portico: Welcoming Entrance. Job One was to create a warm, welcoming entrance. Andrea, Lisa and other intrepid volunteers removed the old, unattractive rhododendrons, replacing them with grasses, evergreen blooming bushes, and trellises full of flowering climbing vines. Colorful potted flowers add interest. The colors, textures, fragrances and movement create a lush and welcoming portico where the outdoors meets the indoors.
Of course, the team surveyed the various rooms from the outside. But of equal importance was the view from the inside. What would each resident see outside their window? How about this view over here? The view from each window was unique, and the team was determined to make peace and beauty visible from every aspect—inside and out.
As the team moved from one area to the next, the most severe problem soon revealed itself: water. Not enough for the plants, but too much runoff after rain! The volunteer garden team’s John Harp offered his expertise to procure new irrigation systems and drainage solutions as they went along.
Gazebo Garden. “The gazebo was a real challenge,” said Lisa. “We were dealing with a slope, dead roses, rotting wood in the landscape, no water, poor soil, and full sun to deep shade. By the time we were done, we had an aesthetic year-round balance of sun and shade garden with beautiful mosaics by Kathy Bayha, and cedar benches built and installed by Chris Bayha. We also have a new roof and a log inspired fountain thanks to the generosity of Ann Widmer. It was thrilling to see our vision come to life and watch the delighted reactions of residents, families, and staff.”
Pollinator Garden: Native Plants. The room-by-room approach also allowed the team to get creative with fundraising. For example, Lisa discovered that we could apply for backyard habitat and grants through Xerces , Stormwater Stars and City of Portland BES. We were granted funds through all of them! And local nursery partners have come through time and again with innumerable “in-kind” donations of plants!
As visitors approach the building, the Pollinator Garden greets them with lovely Oregon native plants, alive with butterflies and insects. Again, we dealt with a slope, and we removed old and invasive species. And again, we dealt with a lack of irrigation and paradoxically, massive runoff onto a patio. Multnomah County’s Stormwater Stars program sent expert Rachel Dvorsky to help. She encouraged us to remove much of the lawn, break up the soil and plant natives. Help also arrived in the form of a professional landscaper and free native plants. This approach, working with nature, reduced the flooding!
It took a year and a half for the garden team volunteers to transform about 15% of the property surrounding the house with native plants. Our invasive expert Dawn McClean was instrumental in guiding removal of most of the invasives. For this work, Hopewell House was awarded the Gold Backyard Habitat Certificate in February 2024.
Courtyard: Moonlight Garden. The courtyard needed a transformation, too. Again, this very public area had once been beautiful. But the old water feature leaked into the basement and had to be removed. The area is highly visible from outside and inside the building. The team devised a moonlight garden, with year-round interest, plus white blooming plants that can seem iridescent at twilight during bloom times. Addition of a lighted, sphere fountain replaced the old fountain and bird houses and feeders add interest delight as birds appear. Residents and families enjoy both flora and fauna of this area.
The other areas the garden team has developed, restored, designed, and nurtured are also “rooms” to visit. They include:
Heart Path
Crow’s Nest
Memorial Garden
Veranda/Courtyard
Sacred Cedar Tree
Woodland Trail
The goal of the volunteer team is to draw you to the different rooms of Hopewell Gardens so that residents, families, and staff members can focus their attention, if only briefly, on the nature around us.
“We hear every day how it has changed the residents, staff and visitors’ perspectives and even changed morale,” said Andrea. “We are fortunate to be a small part of this unique collective of dedicated and gifted givers. That dedication is reflected in everything about Hopewell House.”
