Cambridge Garden a Source of ‘Magic’ and Aid For Those in Need

By Anam Latif Record Reporter

CAMBRIDGE — Porcelain teacups dangle from a garden arbour outside a colourful house on Borden Street in Cambridge. The teacups are filled with bird seed for blue jays and cardinals that can be seen flitting about in Bee (Bridget) Caskenette’s ornate front lawn.

Caskenette’s garden isn’t just a place where birds come to eat. This bit of green space is full of repurposed trinkets and an invitation to linger and pick up some canned goods, books or gently used clothing.

“This is kindness being offered with no judgment,” Caskenette said.

On a sunny weekday morning, Caskenette built a community closet out of old fences she was given by a neighbour. She painted it a bright shade of mint green, the paint was also donated.

Caskenette put shelves and hooks inside the closet so passersby can browse through the items and take what they need.

“Everything I get is donated, I’m just the middleman who organizes it all,” she said.

“People know my home, so they will bring something to donate.”

Her community garden, also known to others in the neighbourhood as Bee’s Bounty, began with a little free library in 2016. It soon grew to include a free pantry and a garden plot with herbs and veggies. Now it also has a community closet.

Almost everything in Caskenette’s garden has been discarded by someone else and rescued by Caskenette’s imagination.

Her free library is inside an old mini fridge, and her free pantry is two coolers stacked on top of each other full of canned goods and drinks and bags of popcorn. The fridge and coolers are painted in bright colours with messages such as: “friends helping friends.”

Caskenette believes almost anything can be reused and recycled. “It just takes imagination,” she said. “Some people look at something just for what it is. I see so many different things it could be.”

She makes a living out of repurposing things others have thrown away and selling them through her Facebook page, Buzzy Bee’s Crafty Corner.

Her front lawn, however, is a project for the entire neighbourhood and it is always changing as she finds more odds and ends to salvage. Her two sons, 10 and 6, also like to help out.

Caskenette admitted that some may think her lawn display is “tacky” or “junky.”

“I see so many people using it. I get nothing but compliments,” she said.

“People like to say it’s eclectic, I call it colour.”

But her quirky front lawn display is not just an opportunity to exercise her creativity — Caskenette also wanted to create a space where people can feel comfortable taking what they need.

“We are teaching my kids to help others,” she said.

A handful of regulars will come by, including a woman who likes to pick up clothing for her grandkids, or homeless individuals who stock up on pantry items as well as clothing.

“I’ve had homeless people come here and leave me lovely letters of gratitude,” she said. “It brings me joy. I’ve met so many great souls.”

Caskenette said she recently brought more things to put out in the library, closet and pantry as public health restrictions have eased in the region.

She even made a wishing well with some tires and a lick of paint. A small bucket is suspended at the top of the wishing well. It is filled with folded pieces of paper and each one contains a wish made by children in the neighbourhood.

“I tell them the garden fairies will make their wishes come true,” Caskenette said.

“Bringing magic into things gives everyone hope.”

Originally Published here: https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/2020/08/15/cambridge-garden-a-source-of-magic-and-aid-for-those-in-need.html