A community garden grows in East Meadow throughout the pandemic

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, many East Meadow residents have been decorating their homes with rainbows and signs thanking essential workers.

Another trend that attracted attention on social media is “Rock the Meadow,” a Facebook group that has inspired residents to paint rocks with hopeful messages and hide them through the community.

But a group of neighbors unintentionally created their own show of unity. In April, an azalea bush popped up on the side of Bernice Court and, over the ensuing three months, there have been many other floral contributions, and it is now a community garden full of multi-colored flowers and lawn decorations.

The spark was Timothy O’Leary, whom neighbors on Bernice Drive can spot jogging along their block most mornings. The 56-year-old retired teacher has been competing in triathlons across the country for almost a decade.

For the past six years, O’Leary has run along Wantagh Parkway, and has passed a stretch of flowers on the side of the road. It made him want to start his own garden, he said, adding, “It’s always been in the back of my mind.”

O’Leary competes in grueling Ironman competitions, which comprise a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a full 26.2-mile marathon. He had planned to compete in Texas in April, but the event was canceled because of the pandemic. With more time on his hands, he said, he was motivated to begin his new hobby. 

In April, he planted the azalea bush in a stretch of bare grass along the sidewalk on Bernice Court in front of his house. For roughly a week, neighbors stopped by to take photos and marvel at the bush of vibrant flowers.

Then it disappeared.

O’Leary was afraid that someone had stolen it, but he learned that a neighbor of his had the same fear, and had replanted the bush in a less visible location. After they talked, O’Leary and the neighbor decided to replant it in its original spot, and O’Leary added other flowers.

“It was just something I wanted to do for the block and for the community,” he said.

Soon his neighbors began adding flowers of their own, and one, Dianne Carannante, asked O’Leary if she could install a fence around his garden. “I said that it’s not my garden, it’s our garden,” he said.

Carannante added decorated rocks that she found while taking part in “Rock the Meadow,” which has turned into something of an ongoing scavenger hunt for the rocks. One day she found money under one of them, and used it to buy more plants.

“People walk by it and love it,” she said. “It’s just something nice. And all of this started because of [the pandemic]. People wanted things to do. I’ve been home for 15 to 16 weeks.”

Carannante is a bus driver for the Suburban Bus Company. Over the summer, she transports only a small handful of students enrolled in special-education courses in the Carle Place School District. All are required to wear masks, and must sanitize their hands and have their temperatures taken before they board. “These children have more patience than me,” she said. “They’re all compliant and handle it well. And it’s nice to see them.”

With her lighter work schedule, Carannante continues to tend to the garden every night after work. It attracted attention on the East Meadow Moms and Dads Group on Facebook, where one woman posted a few pictures of it, and soon there were more than 100 likes.

“It’s been a treat to see its evolution,” Renee Marie wrote. “I look forward to passing it every day when I walk my dog.”

Now, the garden is bookended with two large bushes adorned with a large sign that reads “Welcome to our Community Garden” and lined with solar butterfly lights to illuminate it at night.

“I still don’t know who added those,” O’Leary said. “I think it’s just great that so many people are getting involved.”