Get A Free Tree At This Jamaica Community Garden Celebration

JAMAICA, QUEENS -- This year marks the 40th anniversary of NYC Parks' community gardening program, and the department is kicking off an entire season of celebratory events with a tree giveaway in Jamaica.

GreenThumb, which bids itself the nation's largest community gardening program, announced on Tuesday a series of events that aim to both celebrate its milestone birthday and help New Yorkers explore their community gardens all season long.

"You don't need to be a gardener to take advantage of your local community garden," said NYC Parks GreenThumb Director Bill LoSasso.

The program - which includes more than 550 community gardens in 100 acres citywide - provides materials, support and monthly workshops to its roughly 22,000 gardeners, according to NYC Parks.

Jamaica's Discovery Community Garden, located at 108-56 Union Hall St., will host the inaugural event of Greenthumb's 40th gardening season with a community tree giveaway and plant sale from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, NYC Parks said.

The department invited anyone interested in planting a tree on their own property to register to pick one up free of charge from the community garden, where plants, flowers and veggies will also be sold "at a super low price" for all interested residents.

To pick up your free tree, you must agree to plant it in one of the city's five boroughs, keep it properly watered and maintained, and plant it only in your yard or community garden - not along streets or city parks, the website states.

You must register for your free tree online and the giveaway is limited to one per participant. For any questions on this event, contact Marie Vulcain at mdvlove@yahoo.com or 347-456-4466.

The event is just the first of a series events NYC Parks will host from May to October in honor of GreenThumb's 40th anniversary season.

"Our gardens hold events all season long to bring the neighborhood together and show off their hard work," LaSasso said. "From plant giveaways, to concerts and art exhibitions, there's something for everyone."

View this season's full lineup on the NYC Parks website.

(Lead photo via Shutterstock)