Slavic Village by Elsa Johnson

Gardenopolis Cleveland has, since our inception, been a firm supporter of GardenWalk Cleveland, and has covered it with pictures and text on our blog. This year for various reasons we were only able to commit ourselves to one day, and we chose Slavic Village because it was a place we had not yet been. As Inner Ring Suburb Eastsiders, we’re not very familiar with the neighborhoods of the once great industrial heart of our city.

We got off to a late start due to some trauma inflicted upon one of us by the cat affectionately nicknamed The Brat Prince (there was a lot of blood involved), and then we had trouble getting a map — neither of the two Dave’s we stopped at had maps or even any idea they were supposed to have them.

But we did eventually wend our way to Slavic Village. Like many of Cleveland’s ‘working class’ neighborhood’s it is a place of pleasant sturdy houses, often designed for two families (mostly up and down duplexes), in an area now somewhat denuded by housing-stock loss. But people still make the most of their garden spaces, and have both vegetable gardens and gardens to please the eyes (and birds and pollinators). People express their personal creativity, and enjoy their yards in the summer.

We were especially interested to find one resident with an extensive bee keeping industry. You could wander among the hives and enjoy the singing bees wandering about around your head and in the air.

We hope you’ll enjoy our pictures.

The bee keeper

People found ways to bring comfort into their outdoor environments

And they found ways to add small scale personal touches

They brightened their environments with the colors of flowers

And many people were serious vegetable gardeners

There were handsome houses and handsome trees

Someone was claiming a corner to make an in progress pocket park

This gentleman had been fishing for Lake Erie Walleye.

Little Italy by Ann McCulloh

Little Italy, the other neighborhood visited by one of the Gardenopolis editors, offered more than 30 gardens this year. There are a surprising number of small but lush oases tucked away among the brick fronted homes and hilly side streets. Traditionally Italian grape arbors and fig trees, impressively well-tended vegetable gardens and whimsical decorative touches abound. A brand-new garden discovered at the end of an unpromising alley turned out to be an extensive and delightful outdoor entertainment space, with a pizza oven, water gardens and not one, but two welcoming patios.

Full disclosure: Ann has been involved with the committee that plans GardenWalk Cleveland since its inception.