Our sunflower challenge brings sunshine and community spirit to Redhill

Our community competition to grow the tallest, smallest and brightest, sunflowers has brought the community together to enjoy the thrill of gardening. The competition which began in April, culminated in our celebration event and prize-giving ceremony.

We gave away sunflower seeds and challenge packs to the community in April. Our dedicated team posted them through people’s doors with notes in order to spread the initiative far and wide across Redhill. The seeds and packs were also available to collect from our reception and from St Matthew’s Church.

The special sunflower initiative brought joy and happiness to our team and residents as well as, their friends, family members, loved ones and members of the community.

“It was amazing seeing our sunflowers grow,” said resident Liz Dyer, 81. “They made me smile.”

Our home, which is rated Good by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) encouraged participants to share their progress photos on our Facebook page over the summer and submit their official sunflower photos by the end of September for a chance to win a prize.

Our lifestyle lead, Tina Charlwood, said, “Our residents have loved being part of this sunflower challenge. Planting the sunflower seeds was a very sensory experience with the feel and smell of the soil and the most exciting part was when the seeds started sprouting. It became a real talking point in the home!”

Fifteen of the residents’ sunflowers made it to full height and the home’s regular gardening club took the lead in watering and caring for the plants. For some residents the project brought back memories of their own gardens, while for others it created a real sense of achievement and feelings of joy to be outdoors amongst nature.

“It was amazing to watch the sunflowers grow in our own garden, our residents were very proud of them,” Tina added. “The idea came from our home manager, Paula, who wanted to celebrate the summer and put smiles on everyone’s faces – and it absolutely did that! We’ve loved seeing everyone progress photos and our sunflower event and prize giveaway really brought everyone together.”

Our residents picked the winners of the tallest, smallest and brightest sunflowers and hosted a community tea party for the grand reveal. They enjoyed making sunflower themed decorations in preparation and as hosts the home served homemade cakes and refreshments.

Everyone received a certificate for taking part and Heidi, the daughter of our resident Barry Bromley 84, was delighted to win a family ticket to Kew Gardens for having the brightest sunflower. Brooke, age 5, won a Tully’s Farm Pumpkin Patch voucher for having the tallest sunflower at 76 inches, Albie, age 7, won a Go Ape voucher for having one of the smallest sunflowers at 35 inches. Roman, age 3, won a gardening set for having the other smallest sunflower prize, at 52 inches. Roman’s mum, Lylie said, “Roman has watched and watered his sunflower since Easter and he has loved watching the bumble bees over the pollen. The sunflower is 52 inches, so it is small but bright!”

Our home manager, Paula Deadman, said, “We’re really grateful to everyone who got involved in our sunflower challenge. It’s been a lovely way for our residents to connect with the community.

“Initiatives like this help to create a stimulating, fulfilling environment for our residents and for us, that’s what it’s all about – making them happy. It’s been fantastic to see the team get so behind it too – we’ve all been rooting for our sunflowers! They have definitely brought us all a lot of happiness and it’s amazing to see what can grow from that tiny seed.”

Acorn Court Care Home is a dementia specialist home with 86 ensuite bedrooms, which provides residential, nursing, dementia, acquired brain injury (ABI) and compassionate end-of-life care. Our team pride themselves on championing independence and creating meaningful moments for residents. We have recently become a finalist in the South-East region of the Great British Care Awards 2025 for their Dignity in Care Award.