CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The streets of Corpus Christi are filled with potholes, but near the downtown area there is a street in bloom, thanks to a family tradition.
For more than 40 years Barbara Morrison lived in a house at the corner of Furman Avenue and Carancahua Street.
Morrison was a stay-at-home mother with four kids. She loved to cook, play cards and had a special love for flowers.
Her love for flowers was so strong she took it upon herself to take that love to the streets of Corpus Christi, and shared it with her neighbors and loved ones.
For years Barbara took the time to plant flowers in the median across from her home.
However in 2018, Morrison died and the planting stopped.
That was until her son-in-law, John Reichert, decided to bring her tradition back to life.
Barbara left her home to her daughter and son-in-law, and Reichert understood how important it was to his mother-in-law to beautify the area.
"My mother-in-law took care of this plot when she was in good shape. I thought it would be nice to do that again, so she took real good care of it and I'm just trying to be a little steward, too," Reichert said.
He said that his mother-in-law was very special to him and that she always wanted all of her flowers to look beautiful.
“She was always trying to take care of everything around the house. When people came by she always wanted them to have something nice to look at,” Reichert said.
But for Reichert, it wasn't easy at first. He said the first time he planted on the median, the city tore everything he had planted.
He said he called the city and explained to them why he had planted there, and asked if he could continue to plant flowers in memory of his mother-in-law.
Since then, the city has been nothing but supportive.
He said he receives compliments all the time and the people in the neighborhood appreciate what he's doing.
"I think it's great, I mean, any time you can beautify something in the neighborhood. And I think it's great and being that it's for his mother-in-law makes it that more special — I think it's awesome," Barry Rogers, a neighbor that lives nearby said.
Reichert's neighbors enjoy the flowers so much that they've asked Reichert to use his green thumb on the median down the street.
It's something he said he might consider, but it's definitely a lot of hard work.
But for now, he landscapes the median every day and waters the flowers three times a week.
He said it's worth it because it brings back so many happy memories.
"She loved flowers and I am sure she would like the way it's set up," Reichert said.
So the next time you pass through Furman Avenue and Carancahua Street, stop and smell the flowers.
