Garden Clean-Up will take place on Saturday, April 29, 2023.

WE ARE NO Longer ABLE TO ACCEPT COMPOST DONATIONS.

Your GARDEN IS OPEN. PLEASE ENJOY RESPONSIBLY.

TAKE CARE OF YOUR PLOT AND YOUR NEIGHBORS’.

Our mission is to develop an engaged garden community of neighbors, provide a safe venue for the cultivation of food and flowers, and create a beautiful natural escape in Brooklyn.

Gardener Agreement: Rules & Responsibilities

The garden is an all-volunteer, community effort and each member is responsible for helping maintain it. All members shall abide by the following rules and inform their guests of all rules.

Membership Terms

  • FEE PAYMENT: Garden membership includes each gardener’s agreement to these rules and responsibilities, (1) plot, (1) garden key, and (1) annual nonrefundable fee. Payments shall be submitted by CHECK made out to The Willowtown Association. Venmo and cash payments are no longer accepted.

  • WARNING NOTICES: Plots left unplanted or unkempt will be given a Notice of Plot Cancellation via email. After notice is given, if no response is received and/or the plot still shows no signs of active gardening, the plot will be assigned to the next waitlister. Garden Director periodically inspects all plots.

  • CLEAN UP DAY: A mandatory Cleanup Day event is held annually to maintain an engaged garden community and upkeep of all garden areas. The event occurs in Spring. Membership requires all gardeners to attend.

  • ACCESS: The garden is accessible by key to all current gardeners, their families, and guests from dawn to dusk, (7) days a week, year round. Keys are never to be duplicated. Contact the Garden Director if a new key is needed.

  • CORRESPONDENCE: The Willowtown Garden communicates via email. Group email correspondence shall be read and responded to, if necessary.

  • PLOT CANCELLATIONS: The Garden Director must be notified and the key must be returned or left in the greenhouse drop box.

Garden Plot Rules

  • Plots shall be planted by the last week of May and remain planted until winter. Weeds shall be managed diligently in all plots, borders, and adjacent pathways throughout the duration of the spring, summer, and fall seasons. A plot overgrown with weeds may forfeit one’s right to a plot.

  • Planting, weeding, watering, and harvesting plots shall occur regularly.

  • Chemical fertilizers, insecticides, or weed repellents are forbidden.

  • Containers outside plot edges are welcome but shall not block circulation paths. Please be considerate of your neighbors and avoid casting shade.

  • Overgrown plants shall be secured inside plots and not block pathways.

  • Harvesting from another gardener’s plot is prohibited unless given permission.

  • Garden windmills shall only be used to notify garden neighbors to water plots during a gardener’s absence.

  • Tools shall be used respectfully, cleaned, and returned after use.

Waste Removal Rules

  • Weeds and plant waste shall be disposed of in the designated areas.

  • Full garbage bins shall be brought to the curb on a regular basis for weekly collection on MON/WED/FRI. All trash bins must always have a bag installed. To prevent rodent issues, trash bags must be securely closed.

  • All brown compost bins must always be closed and when full, brought to the curb for removal. Only plant material shall be placed in the brown bins.

Water Rules

  • Always ensure all hoses and spigots are turned off prior to exiting the garden.

  • Hoses must be neatly rolled up and stored near each spigot.

  • Take care not to damage other plots when pulling the hose to your plot.

  • Conserve water use. In summer months, water in mornings or evenings.

Safety Rules

  • Garden gate shall be closed and checked that it is locked upon exiting.

  • Children shall be supervised at all times and accompanied by an adult.

  • Pets shall be leashed and are forbidden to enter plots.

  • The Willowtown Association, Willowtown Community Garden, and the Property Owners are not responsible for the actions or possessions of garden member or visitors and are held harmless for any liability, damage, loss, or claim that may occur.

Plot Availability

We are currently full with no available plots. The waitlist is also full at this time. We will open waitlist applications once space becomes available. Applicants must be a resident of Willowtown, which encompasses the area between Joralemon Street, Atlantic Avenue, Hicks Street and Furman Street.

Where to Buy Plants:

Site History

The site of the gardens was once filled with houses that were demolished in phases for construction of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway between 1937 and 1964.  A park was built in 1947 in the resulting vacant area along Columbia Place and the BQE, first called Atlantic Playground, then named State Street Park. In the late 1990's, the Willowtown Association advocated for a redesign of the park, which resulted in new landscaping, play equipment, improved basketball courts, a new dog run, and the community gardens with a small greenhouse.  At the dedication ceremony, then Parks Commissioner Henry Stern announced the name Palmetto Playground.  Palmetto, he explained, is the official tree of a “State” that borders on the “Atlantic” whose capital is “Columbia” - thus, the names of the three bordering streets.  Adam Yauch, an artist, filmmaker, activist, and one of Brooklyn’s most influential musicians (most famous as ‘MCA’ of the legendary Beastie Boys) grew up playing in this playground. The park was the setting for some of Yauch and his family's fondest memories, including his father Noel teaching him to ride a bike. A year after his premature death, Yauch's parents renamed Palmetto Playground as Adam Yauch Park on May 3rd, 2013. Later, the community garden came to be known separately as Mickel's Garden, after the neighbor and late gardener Mitchell “Mickel” Minawar who died unexpectedly in 2007. Today, it is known as Willowtown Community Garden.

Resources 

The Willowtown Community Garden is a community resource overseen by the Willowtown Association.

Seen in the Garden: Clematis, Henryi (white)

Seen in the Garden: Clematis, Henryi (white)

Donate