By Kevin Herrera
Daily Press Staff Writer

NORTH WILSHIRE — When Josephine Miller and her husband Seth purchased their home on 22nd Street, they knew it was going to need a lot of work, particularly the garden.

“It looked ugly, depressing,” said Miller, a fan of tranquil gardens, as she kneeled down to harvest the celery she planted in her backyard with the help of her three children. “The people living here before us sort of neglected it.”

One day, while walking near her home, she spotted a sign posted from City Hall that said: “Grants.” After inquiring further, Miller, who was in the process of remodeling, learned that City Hall was giving away money — up to $20,000 — for those who wanted to re-landscape their yards. The catch: Residents must use water conserving techniques and/or plants native to the region.

The grant program, which is still active, is part of City Hall’s effort to reduce citywide water use by 20 percent by 2010. Nearly half of a home’s water use goes towards watering landscapes, according to City Hall’s environmental programs division.

It seemed like the perfect fit for Miller and her family. Still, something didn’t feel quite right.

“I thought it was weird to get money for your own home,” Miller said. “It felt sort of unethical.”

After some consideration, she decided to apply for the grant and accept the money on one condition. She would share it with those who needed it most — veterans.

A frequent visitor of the Vet’s Garden, a serene, full-functioning garden located on 15 acres of fertile land near the Veterans Administration Hospital in West LA, Miller decided to hire former soldiers-turned-horticulturalists to recreate the same kind of peaceful atmosphere in her backyard.

“If I would have accepted the money and not done something like this, it would have felt dirty to me,” she said. “I wanted that feeling of perfection that I felt at the garden. Walking through (there) it felt as if nothing was wrong. There was nothing to be done and nothing to worry about … It was like an escape from all of the craziness of LA without having to leave the city.”

The result has gone above and beyond what she or the veterans who participated could have ever hoped for, they said. Not only does Miller have a backyard that protects the environment, and to a certain extent her sanity, she also gained a new appreciation for veterans, who often suffer from damaging stereotypes and rarely are offered the chance to work so intimately with the community.

“Working with (Josephine) meant a lot to the guys because we got the chance to work out in the community, doing something that we all really like to do,” said Korean War veteran Robert Whitaker, while walking through the Vet’s Garden, which provides at a cost its products to up-scale restaurants, florists and the general public. “It was a great experience for all of us. We worked hard on the project and we are very proud of how it turned out.”

For Bobbie Shelton, a veteran of World War II, Miller couldn’t have been a better boss.

“She was so nice,” he said. “I loved the way she fed me. Sandwiches and fresh lemonade every day.”

In designing the garden, Miller worked closely with the veterans as they chose what plants would work best and conserve the most water. They settled on an eclectic mixture, including sage, dusty mellows, plenty of herbs like rosemary and fruit trees. Of all the plants they put in, Miller said only two have died.

“From what I’ve been hearing, that’s pretty rare to have only two die,” she said. “Everything is very happy and so am I.”

Her kids weren’t at first. They loved their grass and didn’t want to see it replaced by dirt and desert grasses. But once they became involved in the process, Miller said they perked up, especially when they each got to create their own mini-gardens. Miller also left a patch of grass for them to play on.

The landscaping may have taken longer than expected — about eight months — but Miller said that never bothered her or her family. She took comfort in the veterans taking their time, making sure everything was perfect. So did her children.

“No matter how bad my day was, when I heard their laughter coming up the street, that flipped my entire day around,” said Miller’s 12-year-old daughter Emma. “They were always laughing.”

Miller said she is still amazed at how “perfect gentlemen (the vets) were and how respectful they were to my family.”

There is hope by both Miller and the veterans that their project will encourage others to open up their homes and their hearts to former soldiers, and realize that many are just looking to contribute to society ... and maybe make some friends along the way.

“I think this garden is a model for what vets can do,” said Joe Ciccone, program director for Veterans Affairs in Los Angeles. “What I would like to do is expand on this and create an employment program where veterans can interact with the community because they have so much to contribute.”