Yaakov's Thoughts...

I think that Amir’s quotation means that even though it is a garden and gardens are beautiful, this was the community garden.  This community garden didn’t only contain beautiful fruits and vegetables like pumpkins, radishes and eggplants, but it also became the home base to all different races and ethnicities of Cleveland.  When all of the people in the garden became friends, Amir’s quotation makes complete sense.