A Whimsical Sanctuary with a Global Influence: How a “Pandemic Project” Shaped a Locust Backyard

By: LiliAnn Paras | September 30, 2021 |  |  Locust

PHOTO CREDIT: Carmela Caracappa Photography
 

Jennifer Elle Lewis is truly a woman of the world. A self-described “Jersey Boomerang”, she grew up in Monmouth County, lived and worked in far-flung areas of the world, and returned to Locust full-time seven years ago, where she and T.J. are raising their two young sons and enjoying the company of her mother.

One common thread throughout her entire life and across her eclectic experiences is her passion for gardening. Jennifer’s gardening talents, global experiences, and artistic eye have combined and culminated in an enchanting garden in the backyard of her home.

Jennifer’s foray into the wider world began early as a young dancer with Broadway touring groups and later, in a wildly different capacity, as a researcher and consultant in the sphere of Gender Equality and Human Rights. She earned a Master’s Degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, U.K., and worked around the globe for various international non-governmental organizations with a particular focus on women in East and Southern Africa. Jennifer’s life abroad enabled her to experience various cultures, landscapes and climates. This opportunity, paired with her love of nature, allowed her to connect with people all across the planet through the shared sense of the importance and healing properties of plants.
 

PHOTO CREDIT: Carmela Caracappa Photography
 

CM: Where are some of the places you have traveled to or lived in for your work with human rights?
Jennifer: For work I’ve lived in New York, South Africa, The Dominican Republic, and Tanzania, but I’ve traveled for research projects or symposiums around the world, to places like Rwanda, Namibia, Morocco, Finland, and India.
 

PHOTO CREDIT: Carmela Caracappa Photography

CM: Did you find time to garden while in these countries?
Jennifer: I seem to garden everywhere I go. In my dingy NYC apartment, I had gardens rigged up to the fire escape and grew climbing moonflowers. In my first London flat, I installed window boxes to grow herbs. In Santo Domingo, there was a Ylang-Ylang Tree in the yard, and I would collect flowers to fragrance my bedroom every night.

CM: Did you have the opportunity to garden with people you met while abroad?
Jennifer: South Africa was paradise. I rented a cottage on a large property and my landlady/friend and I both loved gardening. The area around my cottage had been mainly utilitarian, but we pick-axed out some old concrete to create a vegetable garden with a “rondavel” covered in jasmine. Weekends were often spent at plant nurseries – and it was not uncommon for me to arrive back home in my vintage 1984 Mercedes Sedan with a spiky tree hanging out the rear-passenger window.

Perhaps the most eye-opening experience was in rural Tanzania. I stayed at the home of an awe-inspiring woman aptly named “Mama Jennifer,” who ran her own personal (off-grid) homestead and organized women in the community. She showed me what could be achieved with very little means, and a lot of determination. She grew edible and medicinal plants as well as having a lovely flower garden. Her village could only be reached by foot, a several miles walk from the end of a dirt road.

CM: How has living abroad influenced you, and your present garden?
Jennifer: While I’ve always been enchanted by nature, living across the globe has only solidified this magic for me. A dear friend in South Africa is a traditional “Sangoma” or healer, who taught me about the power of native plants and even the “souls” of trees. The garden was not just a space for her, but for her ancestors – which only added another dimension to my understanding of the “purpose” of a garden. But, of course, it makes sense. After all, don’t trees outlive us all?

I also strive to repurpose and reuse natural and uncommon materials, like the ingenuity in Mama Jennifer’s garden in Tanzania. With this in mind, T.J. and I build fences out of fallen tree limbs instead of new lumber. We cut the tops off water jugs to turn them into planters. And we try to feed our family from what we grow.

Since I studied in the U.K., I’m also a sucker for a classic English Garden, so elements of my style reflect that as well.

CM: When did you first realize you loved gardening?
Jennifer: I started gardening with my mother when I was three. I would help her plant annuals every year, and my favorite thing was to spend the whole day outside, getting covered in dirt, then washing it all off later on.

PHOTO CREDIT: Carmela Caracappa Photography
 

CM: How did you acquire your deeper understanding of plants and gardens?
Jennifer: As a child, I read plant catalogues (instead of comics), and my mother would quiz me on plant names on long road trips – that were usually to places like Longwood Gardens (instead of Great Adventure!) At one point I took a course at Cooper Union in Landscape Design – but found it too “math based” – I always leaned toward a more organic process.

CM: What was the impetus behind the garden at your home?
Jennifer: I wanted to create a whimsical sanctuary for my family-which has now grown exponentially since the pandemic. It was important for me that my children understand where food comes from, and the power of growing your own food, while also making a garden that was fun, sustainable, and aesthetically pleasing.

CM: What was involved in starting the garden?
Jennifer: Since we found ourselves homebound due to COVID-19, we tried to occupy the time and create fun experiences for our kids. I think a lot of people turned to home improvement projects as a creative outlet during the pandemic; we just put most of our focus into our garden. Our first “pandemic-project” (March 2020), was to salvage an early 1900s greenhouse that had fallen into disrepair, and convert it into a French-style Potagér. We removed the old broken glass, power-washed, and gave it a fresh coat of paint – assembled a few raised planter boxes, re-purposed some teak patio furniture (found on recycling day in Fair Haven), and it became a walled vegetable garden.

CM: How has the garden evolved?
Jennifer: Usually, I come to T.J. with a crazy idea, and he figures out how we can make it happen. T.J. is a great sport – and an engineer – both of which have proven immensely helpful! I recently persuaded him to build me a six-foot tall strawberry pyramid on wheels, and a “fairy tale” style fence with the fallen branches of a neighbor’s tree. We have built grapevine orbs that hang from our trees; garden arches made from statuesque tree limbs; trellising out of branches and twigs; and bean-covered tepees- all from materials that I would have otherwise discarded while cleaning up my yard. Many of these creations glow at night, using solar powered lights.

CM: Your sons are very comfortable helping in the garden. Is there an aspect they particularly enjoy?
Jennifer: As we have two active boys, I wanted to create a woodland playground. One day I saw five-foot in diameter hollowed out tree trunks on the side of the road, and knew we had to get them home. After some persuading, I got someone to help me transport the “logs,” and then T.J used some ancient Egyptian building techniques to move them into position. Now they are the best jungle gym a kid could ask for.

CM: You have unusual plants- what are some of your favorites?
Jennifer: Right now, we have some tromboncino squashes ready – they are three-foot-long trombone shaped hanging zucchinis. I dare you to look at one and not laugh. Really.

CM: What are some of the reactions from visitors?
Jennifer: Friends have mentioned they feel transported to another world. Some even remark that time seems to move differently. Most people admire the creativity, and the sculptural aspects of the space. Others, like to see a bountiful garden filled with delicious things to eat. A family friend who was a child during World War 2, wrote me a letter to thank us for our ingenuity – it reminded her of her childhood during the War, and how her mother taught her that food and resources should be treated as precious. It meant a lot to her to see that same spirit in effect today. I cannot tell you how much it means to be able to share our world with others who enjoy it.

To learn more about Jennifer’s garden, visit Instagram – @boho.roots.
 

See this story in print!

Colts Neck – Holmdel – Lincroft Edition – view here.

Rumson – Fair Haven – Little Silver – Red Bank – Locust – Sea Bright Edition  – view here.