A garden is a place set aside from the hectic world. It is pleasant to see and to smell, and as a real bonus, it may yield up something that is good to eat. Mr. and Mrs. William Keiffer enjoy this kind of garden behind their well kept six-family apartment building on the 5700 block of McPherson. Their garden oasis is an inspiration for those who believe urban living can be pleasant and even beautiful.
The Keiffers acknowledge that the area around them has experienced a decline in the past few years, but they remain very defensive about their block. “There are many fine people on the block and some are doing a good job of keeping up their property. In fact, an increased number of vacancies has improved the street, making it less crowded,” the Keiffers say with enthusiasm. “If we didn’t have faith in our street, we wouldn’t be here.”
The Keiffers came to McPherson in the winter of ’55. At that time the only evidence of greenery in the back yard was the dormant grass and markings that indicated ivy had once grown on the garage. Thanks to a brief thaw that year, Mrs. Keiffer was able to bring a few rose bushes from her old back yard and a variety of bulbs including, hardy dahlia, tulips, iris, and daffodils. Not all of the roses survived the transplant, but the bulbs prospered and multiplied. Many of them have left as gifts to other gardeners with plenty left over.
Although Mr. Keiffer was busy remodeling the kitchens and bathrooms of his newly acquired building, he shared his wife’s interest in flowers enough to lay the ground works for the back yard garden. He constructed a wooden arbor for grapes as a unique focal point of the garden. Underneath the arbor, he set concrete borders to define flower beds for plants that love the cool shade provided by the grape vines. It is here each March that the yellow and white crocus become the first flowers to blossom, marking the beginning of continuous bloom in the Keiffer’s garden.
The planning and care Mrs. Keiffer displays in her garden is a credit to the neighborhood chapter of the Garden Club she belonged to before it dissolved. She disdains fancy techniques and refers to herself as a “plain dirt gardener.” “There is no such thing as a ‘green thumb,’ however,” says Mrs. Keiffer, “A good garden is the result of hard work.”
By the end of the summer when many gardens are dying out, the Keiffer’s still have chrysanthemums to look forward to and a number of annuals that will bloom until the first hard frost. The most rewarding event in the garden comes in August when it is time to harvest the grapes. The six grape vines in the arbor yield from three to five bushels of grapes. Mrs. Keiffer makes her own jelly, and always has plenty to give to friends. A patch of mint and a bed of asparagus are other delectable edibles that come from the garden.
When the weather begins to turn cold, the bulbs are fertilized and roses are bedded down. For the remainder of the year, the Keiffers will enjoy a wide variety of house plants. The greenery of an array of house plants and jars of homemade jelly in the kitchen cupboard will brighten the gray days of the winter season until warmer weather invites the crocus to bloom once more.
Original photograph caption
Mrs. Keiffer stands near a hybrid tea rose that is loaded with buds. (Upper corner) Stone remnants of demolished neighborhood buildings, like this one from the old Winter Garden, are a pleasant contrast to living plants. Photograph by Richard Deposky.
Originally published in The Paper, May 1971.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1971_05.pdf, printed page 5.
