Gardener on the Hill

About Gardener on the Hill

From the top of Prospect Hill you can see the whole low sprawl of the city, and the flag on the stone tower snapping in whatever wind is coming off the harbor. Gardener on the Hill tends the yards below it — mowing, trimming, keeping bed edges crisp, cutting back the shrubs that crowd narrow front walks, and mulching so the plantings hold their moisture through August. Somerville hillside yards drain fast and bake in the afternoon, which makes an even, unburnt lawn something worth being proud of. Each spring the beds get opened up; each fall the leaves come off in load after load. It is close work, done at eye level, on ground that tilts.