Pure joy seems to emanate from the lush and colorful patio garden on Mulberry Street. It has become an uplifting sight for many people passing by. Roy Levya is really good at many things says his partner, Brooke. Roy’s two top favorites are gardening and fishing. Roy moved to Leeds to be with Brooke and her daughter a week before last Christ-mas. Right away they began thinking of ideas to make the place cozy. One of the things Brooke was quick to wish for was a garden. Being the pleaser that Roy is, he began planning it out. Roy says, growing a con-crete garden is not as easy as it looks, but he had some experience as he spent much of his childhood helping his parents plant vegetables and flowers in buckets on their concrete patios in Boston. I

’m sure many of you noticed very early in spring that fresh mulch had been put down near the road and a wooden raised bed was on the patio. Roy had begun construction of the raised garden at the same time he began to sow his vegetables and herbs indoors. That’s when the vision of turning the area into a small space reminiscent of a cafe or bistro came to light.

Once things started to come together and plants began to thrive, Roy and Brooke decided they didn’t have enough color in the garden spread so they took to some of the wonderful nurseries that surround the area and found many of the vivid colored flowers. Roy says about 70% of their garden was started from seed and the rest they obtained. They also paint terracotta pots bright colors to accent the flowers. Petunias of the deepest purple grow in a bright turquoise pot and are stunning. Roy’s mom taught him how to start a pineapple plant from the top of a green pineapple. Roy’s pineapple plant lives indoors in the cold months and spends warm months in the bistro garden. A garden isn’t complete without bees, so near the garden is a small wall hive of forager bees. Inside their home, Brooke grows a variety of succulents on the window ledge. So far the garden has been an absolute pleasure for them. Not only is Brooke happy with the space, it seems like the community is, too! They get about half a dozen people or more everyday who compliment and smile at it while passing. Roy says, it’s a great feeling to make people smile.

Roy lived and worked making fishing videos in Florida before the pandemic hit. Unfortunately, he was laid off and so made his way back to MA to be with Brooke. He loves it here in Leeds and says the people are great and have been so welcoming. Being a professional fisherman he is thrilled to have the Mill River as a backyard. One of the things Roy and Brooke loved doing this spring after attending the garden was throwing on their waders and heading out back to the river and catching many of the stocked and holdover trout. He says, it’s always the perfect way to cap off their days.

Roy is a 4 time Massachusetts angler of the year and mul-tiple world record holder over the years. He has worked in the fishing industry for over 30 years helping companies like Shimano develop products. He’s also traveled the country doing seminars and casting demos and currently has caught over 500 different species of fish in US waters! Like Brooke says, Roy is really good at a lot of things! One thing he’s cer-tainly good at is making the most of each day and making people smile!

To get a smile on your face and a sense of calm, I suggest you check out Roy’s fishing videos. This one is beautifully pro-duced and narrated. It’s another glimpse into Roy’s positive outlook on life. Here’s the link.
https://fb.watch/6pkEHA-IDh/ Follow Roy on Instagram @offthehookfishing.