Portsmouth community garden cultivates more than plants

PORTSMOUTH

For Isiah Haskins, "going green" isn't a political statement or a fad.

It's what the 79-year-old man has done all his life - either farming or gardening - since childhood days in Smithfield.

Now, even with back problems, he's able to grow tomatoes and peppers and cucumbers again, thanks to a community garden built on stilts at Province Place of Maryview, an assisted-living facility he and his wife moved to last fall.

The gardens and greenhouse had an open house Tuesday, the culmination of a nearly yearlong community effort to build the wheelchair-accessible project.

Rather than plots in the ground, the beds are on raised platforms - at varying heights - so residents don't have to get down on their knees to garden. "I wouldn't be able to get up again if I did," Haskins said.

The idea for the community garden grew out of a forum on aging sponsored by Bon Secours Hampton Roads. Several groups involved in that effort came up with the idea to build community gardens and joined forces with Virginia Cooperative Extension agent Cyndi Wyskiewicz.

They decided to build the first one at Province Place of Maryview, a long-term-care facility for 72 people.

Steve Zollos, executive director of Bon Secours Healthy Communities, said they hope to use the model in other neighborhoods, perhaps in urban areas with children or in a multigenerational fashion, bringing together different age groups to garden.

"It's an ideal opportunity for them to help the younger generation learn to grow their own food," Zollos said.

Using funds, volunteers and vision from community and business groups, the project began to take shape last summer. Construction began in January, and seedlings were planted by residents in the greenhouse in March. Now many of those plants have been transplanted in the outdoor gardens.

Tuesday, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers were growing, along with basil, dill and begonias.

Master gardeners from Portsmouth and Chesapeake host classes on compost, plant propagation and butterfly plants. They hope to eventually invite other older people in the community who have given up their homes and yards to garden with them. A horticultural class from Churchland High School also plans to have collaborative classes with the residents this fall.

The center will use the produce for meals, and the flowers for decoration and classes on flower arranging.

The gardens also provide a pleasant spot outdoors for residents. Tuesday, Irma Ayers, 97, sat on a bench with two other women. Her walker sat next to her, along with an oxygen tank. A straw hat shaded her eyes.

She pointed to leafy sprigs growing in a planter next to her. "This is my poinsettia," she said. She'd received it at Christmas, and when the blossoms dropped off, Ralph Sweetland, the maintenance supervisor, suggested cutting it back and moving it to the garden. Now it's sprouting new foliage.

Ayers had to leave a spacious home and yard when she moved here last year, so she's happy to still have a hand in growing, even on a small scale.

"I love to mess in the dirt," she said.

Elizabeth Simpson, (757) 446-2635, elizabeth.simpson@pilotonline.com