The self-guided Fort Greene Garden Walk on Sunday, June 14th, 2009 from 11am - 5pm includes 10 private gardens, 3 community gardens and a commercial rooftop, featuring a hydroponic garden, a beehive and a chicken coop.Additional stops on the tour include Irondale Theatre (http://Irondale.org) and GreenSpaces (http://GreenSpacesNY.com) where acclaimed "green graffiti" artist Edina Tokadi (http://mosstika.com) has created an indoor installation and her first permanent outdoor piece. Claiming that urban "distance from nature is cliché," Ms. Tokodi creates street art out of moss and grass.
The hidden verdant treasures of the historical and culturally explosive neighborhood of Fort Greene will delight and amaze those who seize the opportunity of the garden tour to visit them. While the Tate museum protects the Elgin marbles, an old-time Fort Greener has painstakingly reconstructed a Roman ruin in his own backyard. Inspired by a stroll thru Hadrian's villa outside of Rome, Italy this gardener has taken the two combined yards behind his brownstone and recreated the mossy patina of a decaying Roman ruin. This historical wonderland is choc-a-bloc with shards of ruins, embedded plaques that detail the pageantry of Ancient Rome and raised platforms perfect for oration. Togos optional.
Another stop is the garden of legendary jazz singer and long-time Fort Greene resident, Betty Carter. Throughout her esteemed career, Ms. Carter partnered with the genre's greatest, including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and fellow Fort Greene resident Sonny Rollins. Passing away in 1998, a weeping willow tree that she planted in 1970 forms the focal point of the garden that she lovingly tended.
Other highlights include a triple lot with multiple plantings and a separate vegetable garden, the wild and woody private garden of the New York Mycological Society's founder, a handsome formal stone landscape with a sunken pool, and a showcase garden designed for entertaining, by the talented owners of Plant Specialists, one of New York's top landscape design teams. In addition, John Howe of the Brooklyn Bee (http://thebrooklynbee.com) will be on hand with his bee kit. The Sankofa Art Center will showcase birdbaths made at its Fort Greene pottery collective, and Alive Structures (http://alivestructures.com), a local business, that creates green roofs and walls and planters from recycled materials, will display its wares.
Fort Greene proudly struts its long tradition of greenery. The leafy neighborhood would make Michelle Obama proud, as its residents had a strong sense of community, tended vegetables, raised bees on rooftops and advocated gardening long before we even knew her name.
Advance Tickets $15
www.brownpapertickets.com/event/68832
The Greene Grape/Provisions, 753 Fulton St., Fort Greene
Root Stock & Quade, 471 Myrtle Ave., Clinton Hill
The Forest Floor, 659 Vanderbilt Ave., Prospect Heights
Thirst Wine Merchants, 187 DeKalb Ave., Fort Greene
Day of Event $20
The Greene Grape/Provisions, 753 Fulton St., Fort Greene
All ticket holders must visit The Greene Grape/Provisions on the day of the tour for a copy of the map.
For information:
Emily Wasserman 718 852 9283
brownstonebgd@gmail.com www.bbgd.wordpress.com
www.facebook.com/pages/Brooklyn-NY/Brownstone-Brooklyn-Garden-District/74500971368
Serving Greater Fort Greene,
Fort Greene Association
The Fort Greene Association, Inc., operates as a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. A copy of our latest financial report may be obtained by contacting the Office of the Attorney General, Charities Bureau, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
Tokumbo and I are going to this. Can't wait. :)
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