Forest Hills' Community Garden Reopens To The Public On Saturday

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — After limiting public hours amid the pandemic, dozens of community gardens across New York City will open their gates to the public this weekend, including one garden in Forest Hills.

Project Eden, a community garden at 67-2 Kessel Street, is one of several gardens in Queens participating in this year’s fourth annual Open Garden Day NYC — an event on Saturday, where community gardens citywide will welcome visitors from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for a day of free programming.

The city’s 500-plus community gardens are tended to by volunteer members, but typically every garden is required to have regular public hours. That changed during the pandemic, when many gardens closed to the general public, citing space restrictions and safety concerns.

But, as coronavirus numbers across the city plunge, and the gardens begin to blossom, many communities are opening the gates to these citywide green spaces once again.

Open Garden Day NYC showcases the full breadth of community garden programming, including workshops on composting and beekeeping, informational tours, and music, arts, and crafts.

In Forest Hills, Project Eden will be welcoming people back for music and a tour of the garden, in the hopes of building community after this period of dormancy.

The garden was founded in 1993, according to its website, and transformed what was once a trash-filled lot near a former train track into “a little piece of paradise.”

This map shows all of the community gardens that are participating in Open Garden Day: