Warm Gestures LLC.

Kathy Gardener helps Keep Memories of Loved Ones Alive

Corrinne Kellogg
Chronicle Staff Write

Thanks to Kathy Gardener, keeping a loved one's grave site free of snow during the winter month is easier because of her grave blankets.  A grave blanket is a decorative blanket anchored into the ground over the grave keeping snow off the grave during the winter months. Kathy Gardener, owner of Warm Gestures, LLC. has shipped grave blankets to over 25 states in the United States.  What is unique about grave blankets, said Gardener, are that they are individualized.  The person purchasing the grave blanket can personalize the blankets by adding ornaments, letters, toys, or anything that reminds them of their loved one.

Woman creates Blankets to Comfort the Bereaved

Battle Creek Shopper
Piercing Glances by Cheryl Pierce
November 8, 2007

I miss my mom every day, but there's something about the changing of the seasons that makes the yearning especially poignant. I was feeling the heartache last week when, for the first time this year, I saw my breath in the still, crisp morning air. Standing outside, I could suddenly smell the aroma of Mom's kitchen on Thanksgiving. I heard her say how she hated to see the leaves fall and the days shorten. I also felt her sweet sprit dancing around me in the dim morning light. It's been 16 months since my mom died and I miss her every day.

Kathy Gardener misses her mom, too. Kathy's mom died when she was 20. She has also lost three children and a husband. It was out of her own grief that Kathy decided to add a dimension of comfort to her garden and landscape business: making grave blankets. "Everyone deals with death differently, " Kathy said. "And yet, since I started this business, I found that I can relate to each one - those who've lost moms, dads, children, or spouses - because I've been there."

Warm Gestures LLC.

Battle Creek Enquirer
Linda Jo Scott
November 11, 2006

When Kathy's infant daughter Rachael died 28 years ago, Kathy's motherly instincts were overpowering. "She died on Oct.31. When the snow started falling, my first thought was that she was going to get cold" Kathy said. "I know it is silly, but I just wanted to continue to protect her. And I didn't know what to do about it."

The next winter, through a friend, Kathy learned about "grave blankets." And she immediately made one for Rachael's burial place out of evergreen boughs and pink ribbons, with teddy bears, rocking horses and a Santa Claus.

Kathy Gardens for the Greater Good

Marshall Community Ad-visor
August 31, 2005
By Donna Daines

When you have a skill that can benefit someone else, people like Kathy of Olivet think you should use it. Wanting to work close to home, Kathy chose to apply her Advanced Master Gardener volunteer hours to beautify the flower beds of Olivet College. "I decided to approach the college with an offer to clean up and enhance their landscaping. They accepted my offer and I put over 15 hours into the project. I love seeing the before and after of gardening projects, she said.

Last year Kathy redid the landscaping of a nursing home. "I like touching people's lives with flowers because they can add such joy to a person's life. I removed old shrubs, added new mulch, planted oriental grasses and planted hanging baskets and container gardens. The Advanced Master Gardening Program at Leila Arboretum where she received her certification, has taught her about flowers, shrubs, bulbs and pest control. She's also learned about garden textures, color combinations, heights, soil applicability and sun exposure issues. I'd like to start an Olivet vegetable garden run by volunteers to grow crops for the needy and I'd love to be part of starting Olivet's own lawn and garden show to raise money for our fire department. Other residents interested in either of these initiatives are invited to call her at her Olivet home.

The gift that grows: Olivet woman donates time to help beautify local nursing home garden

Battle Creek Enquirer Neighbors Section
August 4, 2004
Sarah Chuby - The Enquirer

Kathy always remembers her father, Elmer, working in his vegetable garden. He always used a shovel and he had a green thumb, she recalled. Kathy, of Olivet, inherited her father's green thumb, but not his vegetable garden. She decided her garden would grow flowers. "He said, Kathy...you can't eat from that. It doesn't feed you." Kathy said. "I don't remember why I got into flowers. Maybe it is because they are beautiful. All I know is that when I am in my garden, I am in my own world." So Kathy, who is an advanced master gardener, decided to take her skills and her love of flowers to redo the flower beds at Evergreen Manor Senior Care Centre in Springfield.

Kathy said she got the idea to renovate the grounds after looking out a window of a resident's room. "I thought they needed something to brighten up their day," she said. Flowers are perfect. Flowers can brighten anyone's day." About 50 hours of volunteer work later, Kathy had replaced the old red mulch and red flowers with all different types of colored plants. "I worked my butt off taking out the shrubs, trimming hedges and I planted 10 flats of dahlias, oriental grasses and other flowers," she said. But it was worth it to me. I wanted to make a difference."