Left: The Castleton Gardens still makes a pretty picture.   Right: Leonard Buchanan gets to work in the Castleton Gardens. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

When Samantha, a stout woman of fair complexion, walked up to the counter of the small wooden shop, she had no idea that her little boy had followed her all the way from home.

"Sell mi a tin a sausage deh," she shouted to the woman behind the counter whose eyes seemed unnaturally droopy. The shopkeeper moved lazily from her chair and went to the back of the shop where the tin products were packed on a dusty shelf. "Is only salt mackerel we got," she said without looking back at her customer.

It was then that Samantha felt a tug on her skirt. She looked down and exclaimed when she recognised the top of her young son's head. "But pickney, mi nuh tell you fi tan ina di yard? Run go back home baby!" When Samantha said this, the little boy, who could have been no more than three years old, ran back down the road from which he had come. He wasn't wearing any shoes, so he squirmed as his bare feet hit the hot stones on the side of the hill.

As this happened, a bread truck was roaring down the road and the driver honked his horn and stuck his head through the window. "Mi soon come! Mi a go up a Wellington and den come back!" he shouted.

I still haven't figured just who the driver of the truck was speaking to, but he honked the horn again when he put his head back inside the vehicle and seemed quite pleased with himself. The road was narrow, so an elderly man walking on the opposite side of the road had to suddenly straighten up to allow the truck to pass. As far as I could tell, the truck driver didn't acknowledge the shaky old man in anyway, yet the pedestrian smiled and waved vigorously as the truck passed him by.

Hotbed of all activity

This is Castleton in St. Mary. We were standing by what many people consider the hotbed of all activity in the community, the cluster of about three shops just outside the famous Castleton Gardens. The sun was high in the sky and the few persons who were in the area were huddled in the small shops, sheltering from the heat.

But while everyone else seemed to be making great efforts to avoid the sun, there was a lone dread-locked bloke strolling merrily down the road.

"How you do?" he said as he passed. We asked the man about his apparent love of the sun. "Sun is life. The work must be done," he said, with a serious look on his face.

As it turned out, this was no ordinary Castleton native. Indeed, we had stumbled upon one of the most famous of them yet.

Meet Leonard Buchanan. This cheery fellow's claim to fame is that he has been working as a gardener at the Castleton Gardens for almost 35 years and takes great pride in the pristine condition in which he says the gardens are always kept. "No matter what you have to do, you have to do it properly. I am one of those who really deal with making sure the place look right and that everything in order. So I just make sure that everything is everything," he said.

Leonard is quite meticulous. One fallen leaf or one unsightly twig is likely to send him up the wall. "Well I don't into the messy thing. Everything must be in order," he said, a stern look in his eyes.

As gardener of the famous venue for so many years, Leonard has seen many changes take place.

"Well the gardens much better today. Everything in more order now than back then," he said. "About four tour bus with tourists comes here every week. I meet a lot of people in this job. Dem come from all over the world," he said with a smile.

Now having worked there for some time, Leonard knows a lot about the gardens. More than most. As he tells it, the gardens are home to more than 4,000 species of plants. It was established in 1862 and is still a popular destination for visitors from home and abroad.

We asked Leonard to tell us about the Castleton community. "Well I born and grow right here. Is a wonderful place. Most people just plant dem irish and coffee and potato and go through. Dem just easy-going and humble," he said. "We don't trouble anybody. We just keep to ourselves. Is one love we deal with around here. Peaceful just like the flowers and trees in the park!"

robert.lalah@gleanerjm.com