Getting to Know North Shore Health
A Place for Reflection and Healing: The Serenity Garden at North Shore Health
By: Danielle Hefferan, NSH Public Information Coordinator; edits provided by Mary Sanders
Nestled between the North Shore Hospital wing and North Shore Living’s Care Center, the Serenity Garden serves as a peaceful outdoor sanctuary for patients, residents, visitors, staff, and community members. Designed for reflection and healing, the garden features wheelchair‑accessible paths, handcrafted benches made by local artisans, and thoughtfully chosen plantings that invite quiet moments of rest.
In 2019, while visiting a Care Center resident, Mary Sanders and the resident gazed out her window unto an arid patch of ground between the above mentioned wings. There grew some scattered, scraggly weeds surrounding a central drain allowing exit for rainwater off the roofs. The resident commented, “I hoped something would be planted out there.”
Upon leaving the Care Center, Sanders encountered administrator Kimber Wraalstad and asked her about the barren space. Wraalstad responded, “I’ve had a vision for it.” As the two approached the hospital’s reception desk, they talked to an employee with extensive gardening expertise who became one third of the garden’s design team. Sanders believes this project was ready to bloom because as others learned about it, they willingly engaged. She gives particular credit to Nancy Koloski who coordinated all the essential moving pieces throughout the garden’s formation and initial upkeep.
Their work, along with the generosity of the broader community, made the Serenity Garden possible, turning a simple vision into a shared, transformative space. A grant from the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation, as well as benefactor donations given in memory of Shirley and Don Hewitt and Mildred Thorsen, helped launch the project. Local businesses and private donors also contributed essential funds, materials, and time to bring the garden to life.
Monica Anderson, a member of the Serenity Garden’s original design team and the garden’s current Volunteer Coordinator, recalled how the initial planning began in 2019, with much of the design work happening over Zoom during COVID and across time zones. Anderson, who brought her landscaping background, deep knowledge of local plants, and even her young children to help, ensured the garden would have something blooming throughout the seasons.
Community collaboration was central from the start. Anderson and the team shared a plant list with local residents, inviting anyone to donate divisions from their own gardens. “It worked out really well,” she said. “We had so many contributions. Now you can walk through the garden and say, ‘This is so‑and‑so’s geranium,’ or ‘Those came from the west end garden club’” The community contributions planted in 2021 not only created a well-established garden by the following year but offered some of the most unique and stunning color combinations.
The Garden’s Impact
The Serenity Garden’s influence is felt daily by those who visit and care for it. Anderson shared, “It started as nothing, just dirt and weeds. Now residents and patients have this beautiful place to look at. Healing happens when there is beauty, and I’m glad it’s here.” Her hope is that more people discover the garden and take time to experience its calming presence.
For Care Center resident Emily Ulhorn, the garden has become an essential part of her routine. During walks with friends, she can be found among the blooms, taking in the colors she describes as “exquisite- colors you've never seen before.” To her, the garden is both comforting and uplifting. “If you don’t feel better after going there, there is something wrong with you,” she said with a smile. Each visit brings anticipation: “I wonder what is blooming today.”
Staff members also speak highly of the garden, calling it their favorite spot for a midday break, whether enjoying lunch or simply stepping outside for a moment of peace. Even the NSH Dietary team benefits from the space- using rhubarb grown in the garden to make their well‑loved rhubarb crisp.
Visit and Support the Serenity Garden
The Serenity Garden is cared for by a small group of dedicated volunteers who meet semi-weekly. North Shore Health and Serenity Garden Friends invite everyone to step into the garden, experience its calming presence. The space can be accessed by entering the main lobby of NSH, going left towards the café, and exiting the door out to the garden. One can also access the garden without entering the hospital from two directions: 1) park on 5th Street near the Care Center’s fenced patio and follow the sidewalk around the west side of the Care Center or 2) park on 5th Avenue near the Clinic’s parking lot and then walk across the parking lot and behind the ambulance garage following the sidewalk around the west side of the hospital.
Community members can continue to support the Serenity Garden through the “Pave the Way” initiative. Tax‑deductible pavers engraved with personal inscriptions, memorial dedications, or tributes to loved ones help sustain the garden’s future while creating lasting legacies within the space. Visit our website to learn more: https://www.northshorehealthgm.org/serenity-garden
The Serenity Garden’s impact is both simple and profound: a place where beauty invites healing, connection, and joy.
For more information, visit: https://www.northshorehealthgm.org. Stay tuned for future informative “Getting to Know North Shore Health” articles, published monthly in the Cook County News Herald.