Nov. 30, 2008 — Malcolm Meyers and Bevrita Brown have literally spent decades cultivating their respective backyard gardens: small but well-stocked half- and quarter-acres of land they both describe as "labors of love" and their "shelters" from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Meyers, 80, was born on St. John but raised on St. Thomas and started his garden in 1972, after he moved to Estate Bordeaux with his wife. He took first prize in the "Best Backyard Garden" category at this year's agricultural fair.
"It's a lot of work, and it's taken a long time to build it up this much, but as long as God gives me the strength, this is what I'm going to keep doing. I start bright and early each morning, just getting outside and putting my hands in the ground," Meyers said.
His garden is a shining example of some of the innovative farming techniques put to use in the territory. Elaborate stone terraces — sculpted by hand out of small boulders and mud — flank the edges of Meyer's property, and are topped with healthy bunches of chives, thyme, and strawberry clippings, among other things.
Pieces of chicken wire have been laid across the soil, to keep backyard pests, such as cats, from uprooting the plants. A shallow trench running through the middle of a few of the terraces allows Meyers to walk through, water or prune the plants, without impacting the soil.
The back of the yard is home to a variety of fruit trees, ranging from guavaberry to coconut. Meyers, who was stationed as a chef during the Korean War, walks through their shade slowly, savoring the smells of each leaf he picks. He talks about his recipes and recalls that during the last part of his tour, he was sent to Alaska, where the cold "chilled his bones."
"Can you imagine — sending a person like me, who has spent his whole life here, to Alaska?" Meyers asked. He is dressed in a tweed fedora, matching pants and crocs, with a light white t-shirt. "Once I came back home, I never left again."
A retired government employee for a little more than 20 years now, Meyers takes everyday comfort in his garden, and reminisces about his wife, who passed away about three years ago. He also applies his green thumb to an ornamental garden at the front of his house, which is dotted by roses of many colors, light yellow butterflies and bright rays of sunshine.
"I've got to have my roses," Meyers said. "There is such joy in working everyday on something that you love."
On the other side of the island in Estate Nazareth, Brown has also balanced her backyard garden with ornamentals — such as magenta and orange orchids, hibiscus and desert rose — with vines, trees and bushes that bear an abundance of different kinds of fruit. Nazareth is typically a dry area, but Brown has devised an elaborate water catchment system that allows her to hydrate the plants in every part of her yard.
In addition to the 1,600 gallon drums she has hooked up in some strategic places, Brown — who took home second place in the Best Backyard Garden category — has more than a dozen 55 gallon tanks hooked up on side of the yard, along with a grey-water system that runs from her kitchen to a grove of banana trees. Since the property slopes steeply on one side, water from another 400-gallon tank is used as a gravity-feed system, keeping trees at the bottom of the hill hydrated all year round.
She also has interspersed banana, soursop and mango trees throughout the quarter-acre of property. Okra, pepper, tangerines, pomegranates, limes, spinach and plantain are just a few of the other items Brown produces.
She has been working on her garden since 1995.
"I grew up in Smith Bay, and my mother would plant all kinds of things around our home," she explained. "I moved to Estate Nazareth in 1995, and after (Hurricane) Marilyn hit, my mother came and lived here with me for a bit and started me off with the garden. She said, 'Bev, when you have a piece of property, it's important that you have a piece of fruit, or grow food on it.'
"So I kept it up. I love gardening, I love plants, and that love has just stayed with me."
Brown treats her plants like her own children, referring to them as "she" or "he." She maintains and cleans them on a routine basis and prunes them every three months. A retaining wall hugs the outmost part of the property, preventing runoff.
"Whether you're growing flowers or fruit trees — it all takes a lot of time and care," Brown said. "You have to be aware of what you're working with, know your land and preserve the soil — if you don't, you'll lose it."
Another area of the garden is used for transplanting.
"I just love it here," Brown said. "Early in the morning, it's really nice just to come outside. You can sit, you can meditate, you can pray, you can talk to your plants. It's so peaceful. It's just like heaven."
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