Down a narrow stretch of East Boulevard, in the shadows of the Baton Rouge Interstate overpass, in what was once a vacant lot overgrown and choked with weeds—now lies a garden. This is something more than your grandma’s favorite backyard hobby or a newlywed’s first housewarming project. It’s a garden of charity and hope.
Beauregarden consists of twenty-four eco-friendly raised beds, each standing four feet tall and made up of all organic materials. No chemicals are used in the fertilizer nor in the herbicides and pesticides, all of which are organically based as well, explained garden project administrator Connie DeLeo as she tip-toed her way around the plots. She flew through the maze of vegetation, touching each plant everywhere she turned. Tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, eggplant, bell peppers, jalapeños, okra, sweet corn, watermelons, banana peppers, basil, rosemary and more.
Garden overseer Thomas Parker, a man clad in denim with dirt-covered hands, saw to the installation of the garden's irrigation system. He's been an active gardener his entire life. "A lot of people are good at something," he said. "This is what I'm good at. My parents have pictures of me planting pumpkin seeds when I was three years old."
Six wooden posts mark the beginning of a garden-enclosing trellis—a “green fence” Parker calls it—which will be wrapped in blackberries and espaliered figs; the barrier may eventually prevent garden robbers from entering. This year Parker will plant paste tomatoes and grape tomatoes since the slicing tomatoes were "wiped out" last year, the whole bunch stolen.
"We've learned from our mistakes," said Parker. Now, the gardeners are encouraged to plant root crops and other produce that is not visible from above ground. Carrots seem to be doing well, said Parker, pulling out a colorful bouquet of red, orange and purple spears. And enough green onions were planted this year to accommodate just about every passerby.
Parker has also planted "Good Samaritan" help-yourself patches that border the garden. All those who garden here enjoy the ample produce that comes forth from these plots, and the leftovers are given to different food banks in the area. One plot's produce is exclusively dedicated to charity in memory of Alexandra Engler, the 42-year-old woman who was killed in her Beauregard neighborhood home in September of 2010. Others are available for rent for a fee of $75 a year. “They're ready for a crop,” said Parker as he reached far into the soil of one of the empty plots, overturning rich earth that came up to his elbows.
An eight-person garden committee plans to keep the garden on track by sending out regular newsletters and organizing "garden party" workdays and social events.
The Beauregarden Project started as a seed of an idea that was brought to the attention of the city, and after procuring a $1,000 grant from the Baton Rouge Downtown Development District, the roots of a fresh community outreach project now burrow into land donated to the First United Methodist Church by Bob Pettit Sr. in honor of his mother Margaret Brandon Pettit. The church and the Beauregard Town Civic Association came together with a purpose of bringing the surrounding community closer for both the betterment of the neighborhood and the greater Baton Rouge area.
In the future, the Beauregarden committee plans to join forces with the South Garden Project in Old South Baton Rouge to bring the joy of community gardening to neighborhoods along the Highland Road corridor. Also, the building of a greenway from Memorial Stadium near the Governor's Mansion to City Park on Dalrymple Drive is underway and if plans continue, Beauregarden will be connected along its path with a pavilion for bikers and joggers to stop, relax and enjoy the garden.
Reverend Susie Thomas of First United Methodist Church hopes that Beauregarden can be a "template for other gardens around the area.”
“We're able to show our faith and God's goodness through our creation," she said. "The garden tied together Beauregard Town and the church."
"It's brought me closer to my neighbors," said Parker standing amongst four plots, his own and three in the care of nearby residents. "This place has so much potential."
When visitors pass down that road today, the garden's message is clear from the words painted on a wooden sign in front: "Beauregarden: Growing in Faith and Community."
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