SECRET GARDENS

 

 

  


   The neighborhood I live in is a flat area on the banks of a wide river. This flat area was originally the site of spacious villas with large gardens in idyllic verdancy. With the discovery of coal in Coal Hill, the mad rush of industry in the form of glass factories and steel mills altered the idyllic villas into sprawling factories that spewed black smoke and turned green areas into black dumping areas of coal. The sides of the hills were shorn of the trees and the air was dark and grimy with the pollution of the factories that operated 24 hours a day.
    In this factory economy, the neighborhood I live in turned the muddy roads into iron  streets for both railroad and then paved streets for cars. The neighborhood, because it was flat, was a prime area for housing for the workers of the steel and glass factories, which were hemmed in between railroad tracks. As more workers came, the slopes above the flat area also became zones of workers house, perched on the steep slopes arching up. Sidewalks were built that enabled the workers to walk to the factories below.
    Originally, outhouses were built in the back areas of these houses. Then with plumbing, basement bathrooms were built, followed by bathrooms on the main floors. The outhouses were turned into concrete backyard areas. In this milieu of soot and concrete, the neighborhood was a industrial wasteland of dirty and polluted air where plants and gardens did not grow.
    Only after the steel mills closed and were demolished did the trees begin to grow again, and the green came back to the riverbank. Yet, many houses still retain the cement front sidewalks with their cement backyards. But I chose to transform the brick backyard into a raised bed garden. Using bricks to create a 12 inch high retaining wall, I spread cardboard and plastic on top of the bricks in order to put soil to allow the vegetables I intended to plant and to grow
    In the quiet street, my garden remains a hidden gem. Behind the locked door to the side alleyway to the backyard, grow morning glories. Then, rose bushes adorn the side wall. Behind the rose bushes is a shaded area where peppers, squash, kohlrabi jockey for the little 2 hours of noon sunlight. In the center is a small walkway to the back wall. Opposite the rose bushes, is the full sunlight area where vegetables prosper in this all day long sunlight.
    During the day, bees buzz all day. Butterflies dance in the wind as they cavort among the leaves; wasps fly elliptical circles as they inspect the leaves; birds hop under the leaves and munch on bugs; ladybugs walk swiftly on leaves in search of insects. Then at night crickets chirp into the morning dawn. In all of this, the moisture from the garden glides in through the windows and refreshes the back rooms.
    Although some of my neighbors also have wonderful gardens, a walk around my neighborhood reveals many parking lots that create border zones between riverbank trees and houses.The riverbank trees highlight the power of nature in reclaiming land that was once industrial factories. This natural resurgence is also part of a city wide trend in greening the city. Every year, there is a neighborhood garden tour, where other hidden garden gems are revealed.

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