A Garden Comes Full Circle

by Lance L. Casper

I recently had the opportunity to visit my brother and his wife who share in their garden in progress. Those of you who have followed my irregular Grandma's Garden column have heard me mention my older brother Carl in various stories. This story tells the tale full circle.

Some of you may remember in previous stories how my brother and I weeded, planted and harvested at Grandma's. Well, my brother made sure that "Green Thumb" followed him home to Stephen Crane Village, the housing project in Newark, New Jersey, where we grew up.

Even though we weren't supposed to plant flowers or have any type of garden at Stephen Crane, they never really enforced the ordinance. My brother certainly took advantage of that!

He proceeded to make a string trellis from kite string that he staked to the ground and tied off to the rain gutter – all in preparation of his planting of Morning Glories which quickly grew and covered the trellis.

Each spring in our local school we ordered seeds so we could plant flowers in cups on the window sill at school, and then we took them home to transplant.

Now, I wonder if kids today have that opportunity?

Carl also planted other flowers all of which grew to add to his "green thumb garden," which soon became the focal point to other people in the project as well as an inspiration for others to plant flowers to beautify our neighborhood.

Some of the older Italian women planted tomatoes from which they made sauce that simmered on the stove for days and the wonderful aroma added to the "ethnic flavor" of our neighborhood. We were even encouraged to pick tomatoes and eat them as if they were apples.

So now we have come full circle as we tour the current garden with my brother Carl and his wife Tena, who now live in south Jersey. The green thumb has never left Carl, and is shared by them both as evidenced by the beautiful array of flowers, shrubs and grasses and the walkway designed by my brother.

It is a garden in progress, as are all gardens, and that is what makes each and every one unique.

There is always room to grow and gardens are something that stay with us all our life – something we never forget, like riding a bike. They provide us with an artistic outlet, a chance to express ourselves and then share that expression.

** Black & white photos courtesy Casper family
** Color photos courtesy Mary Jasch

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published October 29, 2010