Stephanie is a Clevelander who was raised by her great grandmother Hattie Baskin and her great aunt Obealus Lanham in the house where she presently lives. They took care for her as a child and she took care of them in their old age. In 2003 Stephanie began to work on the garden, she cleaned out the old flowerbeds and planted perennials and annuals. Each year she collects seeds from her flowers to sow the next year. A seventy year old rose bush grows on the west side of the house. In 2010 Stephanie began work on a private memorial garden on the north side of the house dedicated to her great grandmother and great aunt. This has become a treasured retreat from the challenges of daily life.
Lee Harvard Miles
The Lee Harvard Miles neighborhood is in the southeastern section of Cleveland. Formerly the Village of Miles Heights which elected Ohio's first African-American mayor, Arthur R. Johnson in 1929. The area was not heavily developed until the 1940s and 1950s and as a result the architectural style of the homes is more contemporary than most of Cleveland’s neighborhoods. To learn more about Harvard/Lee/Miles visit the Harvard Community Services Center.
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Gardens in Lee Harvard Miles
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Gardener Stories
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 Elaine and her family moved into their home in 1967. At that time the Harvard Community Center across the street was a convent for Dominican nuns. Her mother was raised in West Virginia and always had a vegetable garden, a tradition Elaine continues to this day. Elaine grows all her vegetables in containers behind the garage where the sun is strongest. Elaine remembers the big apple tree she would climb and settle into to read for hours as a girl. The rhubarb plant growing against the house was there when the family moved in in 1967. Elaine left Cleveland for college and lived in Atlanta and Scottsdale for a while, but she missed Cleveland with its seasons, parks and cultural opportunities and returned in 1976. |
