Hospital landscapers honor moms with roses on Mother’s Day

The tradition is called "This Bud’s for You." Every Mother’s Day, landscapers at Sharp Grossmont Hospital harvest the roses grown in the hospital’s gardens, arrange floral bouquets, and deliver them to new moms as a special treat. The program started nearly 20 years ago, and the staff looks forward to it every year.

Roses have long been a symbol of love. Just a single rose can brighten your day, the landscapers say, and a whole bouquet can instantly warm your heart. The team members, who work within the Engineering Department at Sharp Grossmont, have developed the annual Mother’s Day tradition to pass these good feelings onto their patients.

“The idea is to recognize and show appreciation to our patients and their loved ones for allowing us to share in an occasion as momentous as motherhood,” says Trini Perez-Ojeda, engineering manager at Sharp Grossmont. “We do this by giving our moms fresh cut flowers, which the landscapers grow and maintain year-round from our hospital’s gardens.”

Flower power

Sharp Grossmont has more than 250 rose bushes growing in the gardens throughout the hospital campus. Every year, the landscaping team harvests the fresh buds and arranges 20 or so bouquets for moms who have their babies on Mother’s Day. The landscapers then deliver the colorful blooms to patient rooms as a special treat.

“Flowers are immensely powerful,” says Perez-Ojeda. “They’ve been proven to reduce stress and promote a sense of well-being and healing. We have visitors, patients and staff alike who find our gardens very calming and soothing, especially if they’re having a tough day.”

Everyone plays a role

The landscapers receive help from the Grossmont Hospital Volunteer Auxiliary, which runs the hospital’s Thrift Korral, a fundraising vehicle for the hospital that sells donated resale items. Their role in the event is to supply the vases — all preowned — for the floral arrangements.

In addition to cheering up and creating a personal connection between the landscapers and patients, the program highlights the significant role all hospital employees and volunteers play in patient care.

Kari Bernet, director of Women’s and Infant Services for Sharp Grossmont Hospital for Women & Newborns, credits the engineering team for finding a way to make a joyous occasion even more special for new moms. “Giving birth on the day we celebrate motherhood is already a joyous occasion,” she says. “But giving birth and receiving an unexpected bouquet of flowers makes it extra special.”

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