A row of hibiscus, crotons and other flowering plants stands against a rock wall on one side of the garden. Fassler works in the garden daily and chats with neighbors who walk by. While the garden is most colorful this time of year, it becomes the center of community celebrations at Christmas. Neighbors help donate electricity and string up a flying reindeer and Christmas lights to turn the garden into a showplace. Residents along McKinley Street also light up their own home to help make the season more festive.
People really take pride in the garden.
It's very nice. Everybody comes out, and we have a party out here with all the lights and everything. The garden wasn't always a welcoming place. The land, bordering four homes, had no clear ownership and it still doesn't. Either the state or the city owns it, Fassler says, but no one took responsibility for its upkeep.