Roots of community gardens

Growing vegetables, flowers still brings people together

By Jeremy Joffray ~ Southeast Missourian

Driving through Cape Girardeau it is hard to find an open lot that does not have a rose bush or some type of garden.

These gardens showcase the city, and make it a neater and cleaner place to live, said Melvin Gateley, a former councilman who has been recognized for planted his share of roses.

Recently, new community gardens have sprouted up here. The Downtown Merchants' Association started its Scholarship Garden last year, and the East Missouri Action Agency's garden began this year.

The latest community garden, the East Missouri Action Agency's, was planted to help some residents supplement their pantries, said Cathy Poole, project coordinator for the East Missouri Action Agency Central Office in Park Hills.

The garden is located in Ranney Park, on the corner of Ranney and College. The Parks and Recreation department owns the land, and is allowing the East Missouri Action Agency to use it for the garden.

Eight families are actively participating in the upkeep of the vegetable garden, which contains broccoli, cabbage, tomatoes and many other vegetables.

Supplies and vegetables for the garden were donated by Garden Hill Nursery, the United Way, the Master Gardeners Group in Jackson; the Travelers Gazebo Gardens and Pet Center in Cape Girardeau also helped.

Once the vegetables are ripe, the eight families will be allowed to pick them and will learn how to can.

Mary Morris, East Missouri Action Agency board member, came up with the garden idea. She hopes to one day have separate family zones that each family will be in charge of.

"I hope through this we can give the younger generation an understanding and knowledge of working with the older community," she said.

'Ten Mile Garden'

The idea of a community garden has come a long way since the days of "Ten Mile Garden," a rose garden made up of 25,000 rose bushes started in 1931, that stretched from Cape Girardeau to Jackson.

"Ten Mile Garden," the brainchild of Dennis Scivally, featured white roses on one side of Old Highway 61 and red roses on the other, representing the two sides of the Civil War.

Community gardens today are used for much more than simply beautifying the city. Now these gardens are being used for fund raising and community service projects.

This will be the third year for the Red Star Baptist Church's community garden. The Red Star garden uses land owned by the Parks and Recreation Department to plant various plants and vegetables.

The church cares for the garden, and allows anyone from the community to pick the vegetables, said Jim Matthews, Red Star Baptist's pastor.

Although much sweat and hard work is involved in caring for the garden, Matthews said it is a good compliment to the Red Star food pantry. Other things have grown from the garden, too, he said.

"Through it we have been able to develop relationships," Matthews said. "Any time you gain a friend it's a nice gift."

Many of the goals of today's gardens were common to community gardens in the past, such as the Victory Gardens during World War II.

In order to help raise food for the war effort, residents across Cape Girardeau were asked to plant gardens in any open lot they had. Between 1,200 and 1,500 gardens were grown in Cape Girardeau in 1943.

Scholarship Garden

The Downtown Merchants' Scholarship Garden's produce is sold to raise money.

The Scholarship Garden is being used to help fund a scholarship for students attending Southeast Missouri State University. The Scholarship Garden is located along an alley between Independence and Merriweather.

Helping create this new wave of gardens was former councilman Gateley, who worked with the Vision 2000 program to beautify the city.

Under Vision 2000, established in 1987, over 4,000 roses and as many as 42,000 bulbs were planted.

Gateley received a special award in 2000 for his work in beautifying the city. A rose display was planted behind City Hall to honor those who made Vision 2000 happen.

Gateley can find many reasons to get involved with community gardens.

"It's just a love for the people and an interest in the city," he said. "I've lived here a long time and I just have a feeling for Cape Girardeau, it's a great place to live."

Beautifying the city remains an important aspect of community gardens.

As the City of Roses, Cape Girardeau's 20-plus rose displays, especially the Capaha Park Rose Garden, are considered tourist attractions. The Capaha Park Rose Garden was accepted as a National Accredited Rose Display Testing Garden in October 1955.

The Cape Girardeau Council of Garden Clubs helps to take care of the Capaha roses, as well as many other gardens throughout the city. The council is made up of four separate garden clubs.

Ann Foust, a member of the Ramblewood Garden Club, said a love for gardening motivates club members to dig deep.

"What a terrible place this would be if we didn't have flowers," she said.

jjoffray@semissourian.com

335-6611 extension 226