Renovated Serenity Garden opens at UNC Health Blue Ridge-Valdese

A renovated outdoor garden is now available to patients, families, and caregivers at the UNC Health Blue Ridge Cancer Center in Valdese.

The Serenity Garden, which was dedicated Oct. 20, includes a new mural, wind sculptures, landscaping, and other improvements intended to provide a quiet space away from the clinical setting.

“Today, we celebrate more than a garden. We celebrate a place that will provide comfort, peace, and hope to patients and families during some of life’s most challenging moments,” said Gary Paxson, president and CEO of UNC Health Blue Ridge, during the dedication ceremony.

The renovation was funded by the Rostan Family Foundation and Jim and Linda Rostan.

“I want to personally thank the Rostan Family Foundation and Jim and Linda Rostan for making this garden possible,” Paxson said. “Their generosity and longtime support of UNC Health Blue Ridge continue to make a meaningful difference in the lives of the people we serve every day. This garden will stand as a lasting reminder of what is possible when compassionate people invest in the well-being of their community.”

Linda Rostan said the design developed around the garden’s existing wall and the idea of using wind sculptures to soften the space.

“The message was simply to inspire hope and serenity, but perhaps it could do more by depicting an element that was familiar, like the sky and mountains and rivers of the Blue Ridge Mountains,” she said. “Then the whole garden took on a life of its own. A life with a past and a future. The unbelievable colors and the depth of textures in the stones that create the Catawba River, the colors in the wall, the whimsy of the wind sculptures, and elevations of the garden all blend to evoke memories that provide new hopes and dreams.”

The renovation also involved several local partners. Brandon “Swede” Lynn created the mural using spray paint, Joey Mull served as installation engineer, and Eric Carswell of Carswell’s Landscaping and Maintenance completed the landscaping.

— AKC