Mr. Rower called her “the keeper of integrity,” explaining that living on the garden means resisting change. “But you know they are in someone’s house.”) With their security, close-knit community and continuity over generations, the garden residents lived like citizens of a small town. Garden residents tend to stay for decades, or move only within the community, or, like Mr. Rower, return to take over their parents’ houses. As Mr. Elffers put it, philosophically, “The nature of the garden over the decades changes.”Urban FirefliesAlden Duer Cohen is the oldest and most tenured resident of the garden. Mr. Rower has three young children, which marks a third generation of Rowers in the garden.

Source: New York Times September 28, 2016 19:02 UTC