The Power of Green

By Marina Rybak

Spring was born last week; its arrival was trumpeted by the snow flurries silently falling on the concrete sidewalks. The city, still clad in the melancholy of the urban grays appeared weary and naked to its bone. The change of the palette was long overdue and I was growing impatient, longing for “ la Primavera” true range and her healing “power of green”.

The Flower Shows have painted the city horizon and are in bloom now. The precious Orchid Exhibition is at the NYC Botanical Gardens in the Bronx and the Macy’s Southeast Asian-themed glitzy splendor has opened its doors. I am not ready yet for the opulence of this organic decadence and sugar-sweet commercialism that accompanies it. There is something haunting and even apocalyptic about the artifice of the tamed flora. Plus, I like to shop in peace, so for the moment I run in the other direction.

I escape into the East Village, (to some of us, proudly known as LES – Lower East Side) in search of a bit of Earth magic, fresh brush strokes and the first signs of spring. The culturally diverse East Village is the neighborhood with a green thumb and the largest amount of Community Gardens in the city. The collective environmental movement emerged as a form of grass roots activism in the early 1970’s and 80’s when the area was spiraling into severe decline.  As a form of social resistance the local residents took matters into their own hands, transforming the abandoned and desolate spaces into the natural living oasis and unique, thriving gardens. Upon reaching my destination I found plenty of local color and the best street art ever – loud, explosive, and grandstanding. Its visual voice is amusing, witty and poetic.

I also love the access of the “East Village Blues”, the colors, which are in abundance on the fire escapes, doors and window guards. Strangely enough, every time I encounter the shade of blue on my visits here, I am pulled into my ancestral memory and get connected to the times long gone.

The gardens remain dormant for now and their spirit dwellers are just about ready to awaken nature from its prolonged sleep. The names on the plaques like Hope Garden or Miracle Garden testify to the endurance of the human spirit and the garden’s revitalizing power. The Little Creative Garden is especially welcoming.  How appropriate. Inhabited with the fairies and chirping birds, it is an enticing sanctuary to pause for few minutes and contemplate.

The new local Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MORUS), which is located in the storefront of a historic C-Squat, has started to conduct the tours of the Community Gardens. The focus is on their histories, the rich heritage and their significant role in the neighborhood’s rebirth and rejuvenation.   Their story is an inspiration to us all.