Juliette Fowler Communities is a vibrant intergenerational community in the Lakewood area of east Dallas that provides residential services and health care for more than 700 residents annually. Fowler serves hundreds of young-at-heart seniors, foster families, and young women as they age out of foster care or are abandoned.

Fowler’s community encompasses 20+ acres of park-like settings with hundreds of mature trees, garden beds, and container gardens. We adapt to our seniors’ needs to make gardening easy. The Fowler gardens and amenities are used by and benefit residents, staff, chefs, and visitors. The Fowler Dallas County Master Gardener Association (DCMGA) gardening program celebrates its 20^th year in 2023 and we are thrilled to have an incredibly talented, organized, and fun group of DCMGs in a long-standing relationship with Fowler residents and the garden program.

Weekly Friday morning classes and garden activities vary depending on the season and the Fowler neighborhood in which we are working. During the heat of the summer and cold of the winter, we adapt to host horticulture crafts, cooking, or container gardening classes. Sandra Zelley, a certified horticultural therapist, leads monthly therapy classes. One challenge is watering this large community garden area due to excessive temperature variations. In the last few years, we have transitioned to native, hardier, and drought resistant plants.

Hundreds of volunteers from corporations, schools, churches, and organizations are educated by DCMGs on best horticultural practices. One example of a corporate volunteer event is our annual Deloitte Impact Day. This event yields on average 1,015 volunteer hours. This includes about 85 Deloitte employees who receive one-on-one horticultural training from 25+ DCMGA volunteers, 20 Fowler residents, and an uncounted number of employees.

Community Amenities:

• Sixteen raised (standing height) therapeutic garden beds
• Greenhouse for winter seeding, growing orchids, and a comfortable place to work
• Sheds with most needed equipment
• Certified Monarch Way Station garden
• Media room for monthly educational programs
• Life enrichment rooms for indoor gardening/horticultural crafts
• Test kitchen for cooking and baking
• PlantTAGG site with signage for identifying plants

We welcome you to join us in our happy gardening on most Fridays from 9-11:30 a.m. at 1234 Abrams Road, Dallas, TX 75214. Contact Cindy Wabner for additional information at cindy.wabner@gmail.com or 214-499-8461.