By Jen Chien, KALW Crosscurrents
Like many people who see a pretty rose in bloom, Annette Smith likes to take in the sight and scent of it. But when she bends her head to inhale this particular rose’s fragrance, her enjoyment comes with a deeper meaning – she remembers where this rosebush came from, and how and when it was planted here.
Smith knows the stories behind most of the plants growing in the Quesada Gardens project – which is on the median strip of Quesada Avenue, off of busy Third Street in the Bayview. The mostly single-family houses on either side of the street face lush greenery, flowers, and even some fruits and vegetables.
“There was a lot of dead grass, weeds,” she recalls. “It had all kinds of debris: beer cans, liquor bottles, needles of where they were using drugs, condoms. Name it, it was out there.”
Read the complete story at KALW Crosscurrents.