N. had already taken Monday off, since we were supposed to be at NYC Pride on Sunday, so we had a nice 3 day weekend ahead of us. In my quest to find something free for us to do here in Boston, I came across a Roxbury Garden Walking Tour (we live in Roxbury, in the area known as Fort Hill or Highland Park..or as I like to call it: The Hill), given by an organization called Discover Roxbury.
Now, ever since I moved here, I was amazed at the suburban feel of this neighborhood. I'm not even sure "suburban" is the right word. It doesn't look like it's in Boston, let alone a short 5 minute walk up a hill from a bustling urban area. Once you climb that hill, it feels as though you are.. somewhere else. The traffic signals disappear, buildings evaporate and are replaced by large houses with wrap-around porches. Giant hundred-year-old trees shade the sidewalks (if you even want to call them sidewalks, because they are so narrow that only one person can fit on most of them). There are so many birds chirping that it gives you a headache. And it's.. green. Everywhere you look, everything is covered in green. Ivy snaking up houses, whatever sidewalk is even there is half covered by wildflowers and rouge patches of tall grass. Most of the houses are pretty old, some even look tattered and abandoned.. but many have been restored and many newer houses built to replace those that burned down in the fires of the 1970's and 80's. There is still a large amount of empty lots in the neighborhood, many abandoned and overrun by weeds, but some have been turned into beautiful community gardens. Apparently, this area of Roxbury is famous for its gardens and urban/sustainable "farming". There is even a woman, a few blocks away from our house, that has a farm. Yes, a farm.. complete with chickens and rabbits.
I don't know why we haven't really explored our neighborhood. I mean, I walk my dogs to Highland Park all the time. I've seen the pretty houses and caught glimpses of some community gardens from behind a chain link fence... but we never really knew just how amazing this neighborhood was. That is, until Saturday.
The tour started at 10am at a community garden about 2 blocks from us we didn't even know existed. The garden was pretty enough, and we got to hear all about the history of Roxbury. I learned a lot... that is what I could actually hear. There was a Creepy McCreepster guy constantly interrupting with his outbursts about birds. Apparently he's a
Told you...
So, none of this was just random gardens. These were actually people's homes. It was a cluster of about 3 houses, all with gorgeous gardens. But, none were more amazing than this one. This house and garden is owned by an older gay couple .. with a dog named Bernice (Bernie for short). Bernie came on the tour with us. (Yes, there's "family" in our neighborhood! There was even a lesbian named Michelle on the tour..AND she's originally from Brooklyn !)
We loved us some Bernie.....
OK.. back to the portal to Wonderland...
This is about where my jaw dropped to the ground and I couldn't seem to mutter anything else but, "wow.." and "Oh. My. God." This couple bought this land... land they claimed to be abandoned and littered with trash, broken washing machines and all sorts of filth.. and transformed it into.. THIS. They said there was a big sloping hill they didn't know what to do with, so they decided (just decided, like they were deciding on having chicken or fish for dinner) to build a waterfall and a pond... with a bridge.
This is their backyard, people.. their flippin' backyard.
There's a public trail that cuts across their property, so they made a little meditation corner, complete with a Buddha. They made a mistake telling me that, because I have decided to perch myself on that rock at least 3 times a week. I may even bring a tent and just squat in their backyard.
We finally left that oasis, and continued the tour back around the hill...
..and ended at the farm. A farm in the middle of Boston... run by a woman who calls herself Garden Girl. It was absolutely amazing what this woman accomplished on 3/4 of an acre of land.. in the middle of the city. She is growing practically anything you can imagine and has a chicken coop.. with real live chickens in it.
She didn't have goats though, so I was a bit disappointed. But, she did serve us fresh honey mint tea, so I'll forgive her.
By noon, we were back at our house, standing in our backyard.. our heads filled with possibilities. I am so building a pond. N. isn't happy about it, but I don't care. I NEED a pond.
Sunday, we went to N.'s mom's house and a couple of hours later were on our way to New Hampshire with $80 of her brother's money to buy him fireworks (we were secretly itching for an excuse to drive there anyway). When we got to the place, we found out everything was 2 for 1, so you know what that means. Yup, we got fireworks too! Looks like this weekend is going to be interesting.
Alright people, this post is definitely long enough and I've probably bored you all to tears (I'm aware that not everyone finds gardening as exciting as I do). Off to bed I go. But before I go, I'll leave you with a photo of my new Honey Moon Beer Security System:
I dare you to try and take one of my beers.. go ahead. ;-)
Namaste bitches!
-D.
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