Kelly Ng
Kelly Ng
Aug 31, 2018 · 4 min read

Can I look through your trash? Hobbyist gardener builds oasis from waste

Walking past Mr Nii Badu’s apartment block in Bedford-Stuyvesant, one would be drawn to lush garden with plants and flowers in hundreds of varieties — potted, hanging in baskets and creeping up the walls of the property, which the 57-year-old resides in with five other households.

This space, which the Ghana native has been tending to since he moved to Bed-Stuy in 2003, has also become a community garden — not only for neighboring residents, but also bees and butterflies. In fact, Mr Badu has even taken over six other public plots along the road adorning them with flora.

For a district where only slightly over 1 per cent of land is zoned for parks, Mr Badu’s extensive orchard is unmissable. Yet, it is not too large a pinch on his pocket — almost all the plants were picked up from the dumpsters.

“I’d say about 75 to 80 per cent of the plants that I have in my garden are all from the streets,” said Mr Badu.

By streets, he meant the dumpsters. There is a specific stretch he frequents in Manhattan’s flower district, several blocks from the animal hospital where he works as a vet. Mr Badu visits this “treasure trove” most frequently in the early summer months, when it is time to refresh his garden with new life.

Large quantities of plants and flowers are chucked at the end of each day, most of which are still healthy. Mr Badu said the sight “pains” him.

“It’s all about just trying to recycle life. People don’t see flowers like, also their lives have to be taken care of. They just see like, I don’t know, something ornamental, they put it out there, it withers and they throw it out. But they need love, they need care,” he said.

Instead of being trashed, the plants and flowers can be turned into compost, while soil can be recycled, he said.

“Such a wasteful nation. People throw things away. They only want to see a beautiful flower but they don’t want to go through the process of making it beautiful. So then, we go and pick it and give it the love and care. It’s sad,” he said.

Mr Badu brought this reporter to his usual flower-hunting spot one day last month. He came equipped with gloves and rummaged through some 20 trash bags at around 6pm, when shops have closed for the day. Plants in the trash are “just broken, not dead”, he stressed.

Cradling a hydrangea with both hands at one point, he said: “All it needs is water, and a little tender, loving care. You just have to prune it, and it will come back…You can re-pot it and it’s going to grow beautifully.”

Mr Badu also imparted some dumpster-diving etiquette: Do not open every bag, gauge by touch which ones might contain plants. He also stressed, repeatedly, to tie the bags as they original were after rummaging through them so as to prevent pests from coming.

Audio story produced for Columbia Journalism School’s audio bootcamp: https://soundcloud.com/kelly-ng-21/can-i-look-through-your-trash-hobbyist-gardener-builds-an-oasis-from-waste

A FAMILY OF GREEN FINGERS

Mr Badu, who hails from Accra, Ghana’s capital city, said he grew up in a family of farmers and gardeners. “We have always had gardens, my daddy always gardened, so I grew up already gardening Also farming. So that’s why I have some peppers and some tomatoes, and some cucumbers (in my garden). And then I also have lettuce, swiss chard also,” he said.

Although he finds and grows more than he can keep, Mr Badu has never considered selling the fruits of his labor. Instead, he gives them away. When this reporter chanced upon the oasis along MacDonough Street for the first time last month, Mr Badu promptly offered a bag of peppers from it, saying, “I’ve got a lot.”

Asked if he every thought of making a business out of his garden, Mr Badu said: “I am in just for the joy, and for the relaxing aspect of it. So I am always happy to extend it other people also, for them to also to have the enjoyment, the healing powers of the plants, you know.”

However, Mr Badu recalled that not everyone in the neighborhood was receptive when he first started his gardening masterpiece. “Initially, some people would come to steal or destroy the plants. But slowly they are growing to love and accept it… I hope they can see that if nothing grows there, it’s just going to be weedy and not looking nice. People throw garbage and trash inside. You can grow something to help the ecology,” said Mr Badu.