Residents flourish in Toowoomba’s Grand Central Floral Parade

For residents at Bolton Clarke’s Westhaven community, the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers has always been one of the most anticipated celebrations of the year. Many of the residents are keen gardeners and former farmers who enjoy sharing their time and lending an expert hand to keep the community’s gardens beautiful.

To celebrate this year’s carnival, residents and clients from Bolton Clarke’s At Home Support service have been hard at work on a new float for the Grand Central Floral Parade.

This year they have decided to take things a step further for the expected audience of 60,000 people, decorating three garden trolleys with hand-made paper flowers and butterflies and fresh flowers that residents have carefully nurtured and grown from seedlings.

Each trolley represents a stage of the butterfly’s life and the three arms of the Bolton Clarke Westhaven community - At Home Support, Retirement Living and Residential Aged Care. The soundtrack for the float is Dolly Parton’s ‘Life Is Like A Butterfly’.

Bolton Clarke Westhaven resident Dorothy Sherratt says the project has provided hours of conversation and great opportunities to meet new friends.

“Making the cocoon was quite the challenge, and I had a few sleepless nights working out how to do it,” she explains.

“But it was a good challenge and I think it has worked out well. When it all comes together it’s going to look brilliant.

“It’s been a lovely process because it’s involved a lot of people here at Westhaven - it has really brought us all together.”