Key Biscayne is home to many who are passionate about gardening, but one would be hard-pressed to find anyone more so than Ceci Sanchez. She vividly recalls visiting her grandmother’s garden in Havana as a young girl. “The colors!” she recalls joyfully. “There were so many layers of colors there.”
A longtime resident on the island, Ceci is also civic minded. She and her husband, Eduardo, regularly attend Village Council meetings, often speaking up to advocate for more trees and offer landscaping suggestions. There is no denying Ceci’s tenacity and commitment to protecting green spaces.
She credits Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens for fostering her deeper understanding and love for gardening. Through Fairchild, she joined a flowering tree society and met a community of dedicated gardeners eager to share their knowledge. Eventually she became a Master Gardener through a University of Florida program and has gone on to volunteer her time to help others become better gardeners.
In the 1990s, Ceci got involved in helping to beautify the Key Biscayne Library gardens, which had been heavily damaged by Hurricane Andrew. Ceci had noticed Ellen Merritt there on Saturday mornings, planting propagations around the pond, and asked if she could help. Ellen, by then in her 70s, readily accepted the offer, perhaps as eager for the Saturday-morning company as she was for another pair of skilled hands and trained eyes.
The two women took on the project with gusto. With few resources initially, they had to be creative. They borrowed tools and enlisted Craig Hardie’s assistance planting a few gumbo limbo trees at the corner with Crandon Boulevard. They set up a foundation to accept contributions to purchase plants and hire the occasional heavy-lifter. Bebe Rebozo pitched in a few hundred dollars seed money.
When the women noticed a major landscaping project taking place at the Square Shopping Center, they approached management and asked to have the plants that were being removed. They had to scramble but came up with a rental truck and a truckload of soil on short notice. They put out word that they needed help and the community answered the call.
It was a rainy afternoon, but that didn’t deter the plant brigade from showing up. Ceci recalls that Tony Greco, owner of the Citgo gas station, came out to help, as did a few firefighters. The volunteers were able to move all the plants as well as a concrete table and benches to the library grounds.
All of the hard work by Ellen, Ceci, and others – including longtime volunteer Alison Owen – eventually paid off, and the gardens became a lush and verdant oasis. Visitors could find respite in the shade on a hot day and enjoy watching the wading ibises and floating turtles. A plaque was erected in Ellen’s honor, noting that she continued to tend the gardens up until shortly before her death in 2007 at the age of 92.
The area is currently fenced off while construction of the new library is underway, but the County plans to protect the trees and gardens. Once the new library opens, patrons will be able to check out books and also enjoy the beautiful gardens that Ellen, Ceci, and others worked so hard to create.
For the last Lighter Side column, click here.