In Seedfolks, who is Wendell? What is his job? How is he connected to the neighborhood?

Wendell is an old white man who originally hails from Kentucky. Before he moved to Cleveland, he lived on a farm, but now he works as a janitor.
It's Wendell's vast experience of agriculture that makes him such a knowledgable gardener. And it's why members of the community instinctively look up to him for his expertise. Wendell is a very kind, caring man, always willing to share his horticultural knowledge with others. It says a lot about how much respect he enjoys in the neighborhood that Ana has no hesitation in calling Wendell in the middle of the night to tell him about Kim's wilting bean plants. Even though the telephone has bad associations for Wendell—it's how he was informed of the deaths of both his son and wife—he's still more than happy to listen to Ana's concerns and help out as best he can.