Hi friends, welcome back! I was scrolling Instagram last week and a video of a garden I’d never heard of on NYC’s Upper West Side caught my eye. The garden is called the West Side Community Garden and located on 89th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus Ave. It’s a few blocks from Central Park so I decided to check it out before starting part two of my Central Park spring tour.
Per their website, “West Side Community Garden was founded in 1976 on a trash-strewn vacant lot on Columbus Avenue that had been slated for an urban renewal project. West Side Community Garden is committed to providing a beautiful, peaceful, green space in which everybody can relax. The only privately owned example of its kind in New York City, the garden is fully funded by grants and donations and run entirely by volunteers.” The garden is free to visit and open almost every day of the year.
Each year they plant over 13,000 tulips for their tulip festival. I visited the day before the tulip festival started, so they were still getting the park ready. In addition to the tulip festival, they also host concerts in the park, movie nights, a family Shakespeare festival, and a benefit party to raise money for the garden.
While I was there, I overheard a lady tell her granddaughter it wasn’t worth the trip to the garden, but I strongly disagree. I thought it was a beautiful little garden and a great spot for the community. I’m glad I stumbled upon this garden and got to see all these beautiful tulips!
