Warwick landscaper donates garden for Spring Ball

Warwick - Adding to the elegance of St. Anthony Community Hospital’s Annual Spring Ball on Saturday evening, April 28, at the Sheraton Crossroads in Mahwah, N.J., the visual theme this year will be “English Formal Gardens,” provided courtesy of Warwick’s Green Mountain Landscaping. The project will be no easy task since the gardens must be in place early on the day of the event and then completely removed by 7:30 a.m. the following morning. To meet those deadlines, Rich Valentino, owner of the long established landscaping firm, decided to rent rooms at the Sheraton so that his workers will be close by and ready for an early start after the event. “I offered to provide the materials and labor for these gardens because I wanted to be part of something special and to give back to this community by supporting our hospital,” said Valentino. “Rich’s generosity goes beyond words,” said Helen Laskow, design chair for the Annual Spring Ball. “His contribution of materials, manpower and time is worth over $5000 and with all his experience, expertise and personal supervision, I know the formal gardens will be outstanding.” Laskow explained that the Spring Ball Committee selected “English Formal Gardens” for its visual theme because it symbolizes growth much like that occurring at St. Anthony Community Hospital. “A garden is always growing,” she said. “And we’re growing. The success of this Spring Ball will help us continue to nurture our growing garden.” With less than a week to go, the Annual Spring Ball Committee has already met it’s goal of raising more than $200,000. Proceeds will be used to help fund the modernization and expansion of St. Anthony Community Hospital’s emergency department. Planned improvements are part of the overall modernization of the hospital to better serve the community’s healthcare needs.