Liz Christy Garden is an oasis of nature and beauty on the Lower East Side (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
East Houston St. between Bowery & Second Ave.
Tuesday & Thursday 6:00 pm – dusk, Saturday & Sunday 12 noon – 4:00 pm
212-402-1121
www.lizchristygarden.us
liz christy garden slideshow
In 1973, the Green Guerillas, led by Liz Christy, turned an ugly patch of land into a thriving community garden — the first in New York City — that is still beloved today. Previously known as the Bowery-Houston Community Farm Garden, the strip of land along Houston St. between Bowery and Second Ave., which bravely survived the recent construction of an enormous building complex next door, offers magnificent peacefulness by a pair of rather frantic intersections. Open Saturdays and Sundays from 12 noon to 4:00 and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00 pm to dusk during the summer, Liz Christy’s Bowery-Houston Garden, which was named in its founder’s honor shortly after her death in 1985, features curving pebbled paths where you can stop by hostas and holly bushes, sunflowers and coleus, impatiens and tiger lilies, magnolias and oxalis, rhubarb and swiss chard, azaleas and hydrangeas, and buttercups and tulips. In a tall tree closer to Second Ave., the beautiful sounds of a multitude of singing birds fill the air, catching the ears of passersby on the street. Take a seat on one of the chairs or benches, obey the “Go Slow” sign on a small tree stump, pause by the grape arbor or the small turtle pond, and even volunteer to help out and eventually become a member; twenty hours of service earns you a key, while forty hours makes you an official Liz Christy gardener, with full voting rights. And be sure to leave a few dollars in the collection basket to help maintain the garden, which is one of the great oases of New York City.