The project began four years ago as a vegetation garden, said Brian Keith of the Springfield Promise Neighborhood. The garden is one of several community gardens plotted by the Promise Neighborhood in 2012, and was given to Keith as part of the project.
Last year, the garden produced vegetables, Keith said. But due to its prominent location and a rash of violence in the community last year, Keith decided to change its theme by adding decorative flowers and a bench near the street.
“Limestone is the gateway to Springfield,” Keith said. “I wanted to beautify Limestone a little bit more.”
The garden is named after Keith’s great grandfather, who provided him with a piece of advice he never forgot in the fifth grade. While he was suspended from school, he stayed with Tolliver.
“He told me: ‘You actually have one foot in the penitentiary’ (because of the incident),” Keith said. “It stuck with me throughout high school and even going on to graduate from college. With this project, I thought it would be great to show my appreciation to him; not just making that statement, but being the man that he was.”
The Promise Neighborhood now has eight community and school gardens.
The display garden has been a great addition to the Promise Neighborhood, said Community Coordinator Eric Smith.
“It’s a nice face lift,” Smith said. “Most importantly, it sparks the imagination of folks who will see it and think, ‘Hey, we can create the kind of neighborhood we want.’ ”
Keith is also hoping to place memorials for George Walker and Jeff Wellington, who were both shot and killed last year, in the peace garden. Keith worked with both at Springfield High School.
The garden will host community events to bring more people to the South end of town. The peace garden will be holding a Silent Party at 6 p.m. today. The event is free and open to the public. Later this year, the garden, located one block from Evans Stadium, may also host community tailgate parties before Springfield High School football games.
Keith and his mother, Brenda, and other community supporters such as City Commissioner Joyce Chilton and her husband, Paul, along with Opportunities for Individual Change and Wittenberg University, have also volunteered at the garden. The city of Springfield and Clark County’s Ohio State University Extension Office also played a key role in developing the garden.
“There have been a fair amount of people that have helped,” Keith said.
The goal, he said, is to make the garden a community project. He would like for organizations to plant flowers and help keep the garden clean throughout the year.
The garden may also motivate neighbors keep their property clean around it, Keith said.
“I hope so, because we need it here on Limestone,” he said.
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