Greenhouse program nurtures adults with disabilities

As reported by Peggy Ussery of the Dothan Eagle.

DOTHAN, Ala. – Ken Woodham calls himself the money man. It’s his favorite part of the spring and fall sales at the greenhouse at the Vaughn-Blumberg Center in Dothan. He’ll walk through the greenhouse, plucking dead leaves off plants as needed, putting price tags on plants and helping customers load their purchases into their vehicles.

But collecting the money from the sales is what he enjoys most. It’s a good fit for Woodham, who gets paid for
the work he does in the greenhouse.

“Selling the plants and get the money and go buy me a soda with it,” Woodham said.

The Vaughn-Blumberg Center is a nonprofit organization that provides services for adults with developmental disabilities to help them live more independently. The greenhouse is part of the organization’s John A. Conti Work Center, where consumers get paid for their work whether they’re packing 12,000 plastic eggs with Easter candy for a local church, packaging plastic utensils or nursing the plants in the greenhouse.

Profits from the spring and fall sales as well as rentals (ferns, palms and ficus trees as well as wedding equipment) all go back into the work center.

The greenhouse will host its spring plant sale April 6, 7 and 8 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Of course, you don’t have to wait until a sale. The greenhouse is actually open for customers Monday through Friday during morning and afternoon hours.

Charlotte Smith, Vaughn-Blumberg’s greenhouse instructor, said the consumers learn how to pot the plants, care for them and prune them. The greenhouse features everything from bedding plants like perennials and annuals to herbs such as basil, dill, thyme, chives and cilantro. Most of the plants available for the spring sale have been growing since November.

“We’ve been babying them,” Smith said.

Consumers adopt different tasks depending on what they enjoy doing most. Scott Dumars, for example, likes to sweep, so he sweeps. Anthony Wilson does whatever Smith needs him to do whether the task is potting plants or watering plants.

“I tried to get used to knowing the names of them,” Wilson said of all the different plant varieties. “Sometimes I forget.”