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Growing Trend
Herbs, shrubs and flowers, native and exotic, fill up home's front yard
Journal photo by David Rolfe
Johnell Hunter and his wife, Debra, established Bless the Children Ministry, which uses beautification programs to reach young people.
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Published: August 20, 2008
The giraffe plant has barely stretched its neck above the ground, but the elephant ears flap at the slightest breeze.
Johnell Hunter's cottage garden in the 1200 block of Sprague Street in Winston-Salem is a trip through a small patch of Eden, where herbs, shrubs and flowers, both native and exotic, bloom in happy abandon.
The garden is in its third season, and is a form of self-expression for Hunter and his wife, Debra, who established Bless the Children Ministry in 1984. The ministry uses beautification programs as a way to reach children and their families. The ministry works with such community organizations as Keep Winston-Salem Beautiful and the Forsyth County Cooperative Extension Service.
Hunter, who is a substitute teacher and an ordained minister, also does gardening programs in Forest Park, Mineral Springs and Ashley elementary schools.
"The first garden was the garden of Eden," Hunter said. "I try to teach young people the value of nature."
When Hunter moved into the house in December 2005, there were only three or four shrubs in the front yard, he said. After getting his landlord's permission to put in a garden, Hunter went to work.
The front yard has such sun-loving plants as cactus, a banana tree, canna lilies, elephant ears and sunflowers. Peanuts and potatoes send their shoots underground to ripen by the end of summer.
Many of the plants are pass-a-longs from friends or curiosities. The giraffe plant came from a man who had lived in West Africa, he said. It is supposed to grow 20 feet high and have spikes, but Hunter's is just getting started.
The mosquito plant, which Hunter swears keeps away mosquitoes, emits a strong lemony scent. Hunter bought that plant at the downtown market. Along the side of the house are such herbs as horseradish, lemongrass, oregano, basic, lavender and chives.
Gardens such as Hunter's are becoming more popular, said Stephen Greer, a horticultural agent with the extension service. Green lawns are still the standard, but more people are experimenting with front-yard cottage gardens that mix herbs, flowers and vegetables.
The trend has paralleled the growing interest in water conservation, native plants and locally grown food, he said.
"They know how it was grown. They know exactly how it was handled, how many bugs have chewed on it," he said, of such gardeners as Hunter.
One of the more unusual features of Hunter's garden is the canvas that lies under 6 inches of compost. The canvas keeps down weeds, Hunter said. He uses Epsom salts, lime and eggshells to enrich the soil.
Hunter grew up in the Happy Hill Gardens community, he said, but he often gardened with his grandmother who lived in the Castle Heights neighborhood off Carver School Road. He said he believes that his interest in plants comes from his father, who was from South Carolina.
Growing things gives people a sense of accomplishment and exposes them to the wonders of God's creation, Hunter said.
That message is at the heart of the Bless the Children Ministry. He and his wife go into areas looking for eyesores, Hunter said, and promote neighborhood beautification.
Often their efforts start with a neighborhood cleanup project where they go door-to-door and solicit volunteers. From there, they might install a garden patch or offer such youth programs as summer camps, workshops and field trips. The couple works with children from 6 to 17 years old. Once the children turn 17, the Hunters ask them to return as advisers.
Joe Walters, who lives on East 18th Street, said he has known Hunter for 15 years and has worked with him on a number of garden projects.
Hunter has a special gift for working with plants and people, particularly children, Walters said. "When the children would come out and garden with us, it seemed to be a lot of fun for them," he said. "They enjoyed it as much as anyone."
Hunter said that the ministry maintains 14 garden sites in the Winston-Salem area and Greensboro. One garden patch is in front of the Hewitt Business Center on South Marshall Street. Other sites are at the Agape Faith Church in Clemmons and the Peace Haven Trailer Park in Clemmons, where the Hunters used to live.
Hunter's pastor, the Rev. Sheldon Southerland, of Friendship Community Church of God in Greensboro, said that Hunter's ministry is independent of the church, but that Hunter has done programs through the church.
"He has a real heart for people who are broken and for families who are disjointed," Southerland said. "His belief is that by people seeing and experiencing the beauty of God, it brings about a different focus in their lives."
■ Mary Giunca can be reached at 727-4089 or at mgiunca@wsjournal.com.
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