Urban Garden Profile: Kay at the Garden of Love.

 I wandered into the garden because of the woman in the back waving. While walking towards her through the plots the smiling person in the pink blouse and wire framed glasses says "This street was the turf of a drug dealer and it was really nicer than the rest of this area of Harlem at that time."  She demurs nonchalantly like a seasoned  tour guide. I interrupt to ask for an interview - she won't let me take her picture, but she's intrigued. I exchange names with her. "I'm Kay." Kay goes on to explain that when the city caught the guy the street and the neighborhood began to fail again.
"When he was here this particular street was an oasis in Harlem. After that things went back to how the rest of the neighborhood had been." I asked her to tell me about the history of the garden. The street really doesn't look particularly distressed to me now. In fact many parts of Harlem is renovated lately. My mind trails off and Kay is continuing to talk.  "It was wider - now I have concrete dropping on my plot from the construction next door, There's less sun than originally because the buildings shade us. But the city did give us some things when they divided the plot. We now have water and a patio." Kay pointed to the spigots and smiled. "People used to use the beauty shop and bring buckets over here or tap the fire hydrants.The city gave us good dirt too and helped to cover up the concrete and rubble that was here. But that plot didn't sell for a long time."

The development of community gardens in the city have immense cultural significance. These areas are more often than not a touchstone for restoration and eventually gentrification - or as Kay calls it "the Manhattenization of Harlem". She brings us over to her lush raised bed plot and tells us about her tomatoes. I'm staring off into space a little to absorb the place - reaching out to the transformation and the immense value this woman brought to the neighborhood because she likes tomatoes. "I'm sorry am I boring you? I ramble on sometimes. This isn't an interview . It's more like a monologue." No I tell her, " I am trained to listen in that I have a mother that likes to garden as well." Kay grins and rambles on " This mylar I have here captures 90% of the light - its the same stuff they use in solar ovens so I have to be careful not to focus it directly on anything. The concrete dripping on it etches the surface."

 I notice it's crumpled and the tape is coming off where it is tacked to the makeshift construction wall. I look under the tomatoes and see a crumpled ball of red plastic material. "Oh that? That's red mulch it reflects the light back up onto the plants and the red light is good for the fruit - if you use blue mulch that light is good for the leaves - red for the fruit. Here do you want it? You can take it with you." I smile. I'm wondering how that technique began to be called "mulch". "I hear about using grow lights to support yield in big farms and I wonder what it would be like here because of the shade of the buildings," Kay says without any hesitation. I picture makeshift lights on tripods and extension cords strung up everywhere. I mumble, "Wouldn't that  change the look of this place?" Kay raises an eyebrow. I think better of what I said "Probably not every one in the garden would do that  - maybe just you would do that Kay." Kay looks at me funny - she pretends not to understand. " I got the idea for the mylar when I was living near Seattle from a college professor - he thought that the reflective properties would benefit the plants. There was an older lady there who didn't think it would work- she was wrong. It really helps."

Kays passion for the puzzle of gardening in a 10x6 plot in Harlem is infectious - she's chipper and super informed. Her mylar may be crumpled but her methods are laser sharp. Her plot is over gown with beans and basil and huge healthy tomato plants. We look to the gate where an attractive 50 something woman wanders in with a poodle and salt and pepper dreadlocks. Kay calls out "I've got your strawberrys." The woman  looks at me and say's "I won't be a minute, Kay I have to get rid of these chocolate mints I can't eat them are you going to be here tomarrow?" Kay nods and the poodle lady smiles exchanges a little more small talk and meanders back out of the gate " Kay points at the mural on the wall that celebrates both the Bible and the Koran. "When they painted that here it was a dangerous piece to make a thing like that because it challenged the drug selling here. It really was threatening to the pushers." I stare at the mural and think "Thank God for you Kay - that writing is on the wall  because of your dedication and homesteading. If you and the other gardeners weren't here that artist wouldn't have had an enclave to post their message of hope." As I leave the blatant unmistakable power of gardening hugs me.