Two local organizations joined forces to host New York City’s first “Pop Up Garden” at the Flushing Greenmarket on Wednesday, July 17. GrowNYC and the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce partnered to showcase the new garden at the annual green market.
The Pop Up Garden is designed to provide free outdoor horticultural education and in-person gardening demonstrations for New Yorkers interested in starting a garden at home.
Maureen Regan, founder and executive director of Green Earth Urban Gardens (GUEG), is the brains behind the Pop Up Garden.
“We fully support the development of local agriculture and horticulture as an essential step in addressing climate change,” Regan said in a statement.
The Pop Up Garden will continue to be a part of the Flushing Greenmarket through cultural programming efforts led by the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce.
The Greenmarket is open every Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. until Nov. 27 at Bowne Playground, located at Sanford Avenue and Union Street in Flushing. The Greenmarket features farmers selling baked goods, eggs, cider, fruit and vegetables from local farms, including Breezy Hill Orchard, Knoll Krest Farm and R&G Produce.
The Flushing Greenmarket is managed by GrowNYC, an environmental nonprofit that works to give New Yorkers access to farm fresh food, and a direct marketplace for farmers to sell their goods. GrowNYC Greenmarkets are producer-only: farmers strictly sell what they grow, raise catch or bake themselves. The program includes partnerships with small to mid-sized farms from 250 miles north, 120 miles south and 170 miles east and west of New York City.
Angela Davis, director of GrowNYC Food Access and Agriculture, urged residents to come and experience all the Flushing Greenmarket has to offer.
“The seasonal bounty and selection of producers at GrowNYC Greenmarket sites is unparalleled, from just-picked fruits and vegetables, artisan bread and baked goods, jams, freshly caught fish, maple syrup, flowers and so much more week after week, all season long,” she said in a statement.
