Life has a funny way of bringing you full circle, and in Lonnie McCleve's case, this has proven to be true. Lonnie grew up on a farm in Taylor, Arizona, and imagined a life far from growing crops like his father and grandfather. Instead, Lonnie became a land developer and helped to create The Pecans community in Queen Creek. It was important for Lonnie to save as many of the pecan trees that had been part of the original grove as possible. Already there was something of the farmer still in Lonnie's mind. Lonnie and his wife had moved to Queen Creek 14 years ago and recognized that familiar small town feel with agriculture at its core.
The potential and the rapid growth of Queen Creek provided a prime opportunity, but gradually Lonnie would grow more than just housing. Lonnie found his interest piqued about gardening after getting a tour of Justin Rohner's home garden. Justin showed the numerous benefits of growing local and seasonal produce that were healing as well as beautiful. His expertise inspired Lonnie and the two of them collaborated to create the Queen Creek Botanical Garden. Nearly everything that is grown on site is edible and the garden serves to educate the public as well as create a stunning landscape to traverse.
Returning to nature had particular significance for Lonnie when he was diagnosed with stage 4 Lymphoma. The traditional chemotherapy treatment he was going to receive only gave him a 3% chance of surviving at the end of 5 years. Lonnie didn't like those odds and walked away from modern medicine. Instead Lonnie chose to pursue a cancer treatment plan through Oasis of Healing clinic. For one month he drank nothing but a 'green' juice that included ingredients like spinach and kale, which cleansed out the body. For the next five months he slowly reintroduced more foods but avoided white refined sugar. By the end of six months he was cancer free and the tumors had disappeared.
In the end, Lonnie returned to his roots of agriculture and in doing so healed himself. I asked him what his father, who grew corn and cucumbers, would think of him today and Lonnie replied, 'He would be really happy'. Lonnie lost his father when he was 25 but his values of hard work have stayed with him. Today Lonnie is a father to 7 and grandfather to 33. The Queen Creek Botanical Garden backs on to The Pecans neighborhood and Lonnie especially loves the lake, the working industrial mill, and the old pecan tree wrapped with lights which he calls the 'Grandfather Tree'. The entire garden was designed around this tree which Lonnie says was the oldest and most robust tree in the grove. They wanted to give prime of place, and now the tree proudly presides over several weddings that take place on the grounds.
Lonnie's passion project has also involved his children and their spouses who have added on to the area with Pecan Lake Entertainment. One thing is clear, Lonnie has interwoven the themes of family, nature, and health all in one spot. Not only has he planted roots in Queen Creek, but he also hopes to sow some seeds of inspiration for others.
'Nearly everything that is grown on site is edible and the garden serves to educate the public as well as create a stunning landscape to traverse.'