Seedfolks
Character
Essay Goldenrod and Granny “Mama believed in doctors, but not Granny” (23), exclaims Leona, one of the characters who changes and is changed by the Gibb Street garden in Seedfolks, by Paul Fleishman. This story about a community garden in Cleveland, Ohio, weaves a tale of the people who transform a trash-‐filled vacant lot into a beautiful garden. The story begins with a young girl, Kim, who plants seeds in memory of her father. The vacant lot later becomes a gathering place where life lessons are learned and lives are restored. Leona is a strong woman who recalls her grandmother's belief in goldenrod to cure, and is determined to cut through bureaucracy to get results. Although Leona is a middle-‐aged woman and I am a middle school girl, she and I both share a love and respect for our grandmothers and a persistence to get things accomplished. One of the connections I made with Leona is her respect for her granny. She tells the story about how her granny outlived all of her doctors. “She drank down a big cup of goldenrod tea every morning” (23), but all the doctors told her it wasn't good for her. She went to all their funerals and laid goldenrod at the graves. Leona tells this story because she thinks about planting goldenrod in the garden. My grandma and I were also close. She used to take care of me when I was little. One of the things she really loved was her lilac bush. When I was little, I would always pick the lilac flowers and wear them. They smelled so pretty. We have some lilac bushes in our yard now, and whenever I smell the fragrance of the lilacs each spring, I think of my grandma. Leona and I both love our grandmothers and want to find ways to keep their memory alive. Another quality that I admire in Leona is her determination to get something done. I think I am that way also. ….
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