Flowers In Prison

More than a decade ago our society complained to ourlaw makers that the prison grounds were looking nicer than their yards. The society claims that prisoners should not allowed nor have the pleasure to enjoy a beautiful landscape on prison grounds. Our lawmakers agreed with their contingents and passed a law that barred prisons from growing any type of flowers. FCC Coleman fell into that category and you do not see any flowers around the complex. I love flowers and I truly enjoy gardening and I was missing that. In 1999 the authorities sent me to work at the Powerhouse of the Men facility (Medium). When I got there the place was ugly, so I chose to change the look of the building and I painted the entire building, windows and doors, I waxed the floors etc, etc, after I finished I felt that something was missing so I decided to make a little garden in front of the building. With my supervisor's approval, and some help of other staff and some fellow prisoners I made a small garden with boxwood, lirope, azalea and mexican heather, aloe vera, white limestone and landscape timbers, all perfectly arranged. I took care of my garden on a daily basis, and I enjoyed looking at the butterflyes of different colors landing on the purple flowers of the mexican heather or the lily flowers of lirope. I left Coleman-Camp in 2000 (Due to my hungry strikre) and when I came back in 2003 I was assigned to the same job and my little garden was still there, a little bit abandoned, but still there, then I decides to make a vegetable garden, next to my flower garden and of course I did not have any seeds to grow. I had to come up with a plan, after a few days I choose to grow tomatoes and the plan was to take the seeds from my tomatoes ,instead of eat the seeds I was going to smugle the seed from the dining hall and I did it until one day a staff was padding us down outside the dining hall and I was scared to be caught with the tomato seeds inside my pocket. The officer did not notice the seeds and I was safe. I thought that the risk was worth it when I saw the beautiful tomatoes in my vegetable garden. I shared the tomatoes with my fellow prisoners and I ate the last tomato out of my garden. However, I did not want to take the risk again of smuggling the seeds from the dining hall, so I decided to grow fruits from the fruits they sell to us in commissary. So I grew lemon, orange, avocado and a mango tree, but I encoutered another problem the plants were too big for my little vegetable garden, then I made another space for the fruit plants with white limestone, landscape timbers, etc, etc, nicely arranged. For the last few weeks I have been working in my garden, cleaning, trimming and pruning. Some plants had grown very big like my aloe vera I call her my "Lion King" She gave us two huge, tall gorgeous flowers few months ago. While I was gardening yesterday I was thinking what I was going to grow in my vegetable garden, I said to myself: "I can not steal more tomatoe seeds from my own salad, I can not grow fruit, what I am going to grow?" I thought about pineaples. I love pineaple and the pineaple plant is small and beautiful, but how do I find a pineaple? while I was lost in my thoughts I was trying to comprehend why society is till so harsh with prisoners (first-time, non-violent offenders) what damage or who will be hurt if we prisoners learn horticulture skills while keeping the prison grounds looking nice. I know that social change takes time, but I hope that soon society will change their view about first-time, non-violent offenders, so in the future a prisoner does not have to smuggle tomatoe seeds out of his/her salad and take the risk to be punish for it. We live in a violent society ... look at the news every day besides being away from our family. Why not brighten our day with life's simple and natural pleasures. It is for all of our benefits. I love you all. Yraida (Leo).