The Green Dome Garden, a 2,500 square-foot volunteer's garden in McCarren Park's quiet zone on North 12th Street between Driggs and Union Avenues in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York is another beautiful "secret garden" waiting to be discovered.
This community garden is unique in that it is open daily, from 10 AM till dusk, without an attendant, and is maintained entirely by volunteers from the Williamsburg and Greenpoint neighborhoods as a quiet oasis devoted to nature and as a refuge for wildlife birds and insects.
It has meandering stone paths which allow people to explore without interrupting another person/family's experience. There are several benches and the paths have been paved with Belgium blocks to improve access for the elderly, baby carriages and wheelchairs. Alternatively some areas have stepping stone paths which are accessible only by foot.
Please click to enlarge to see details of the gardenFounded in 1997, by a local resident who wanted to beautify a neglected portion of McCarren Park with the NYC Parks Department's permission, the Green Dome Garden has certainly proved that a committed group of volunteers can achieve much towards creating an unexpected peaceful retreat in a busy city neighborhood for all to enjoy!
Across the street from the garden stands this impressive Russian Orthodox Church of The Transfiguration of Our Lord. I will blog about this historical church in my next blog post, so I hope you will rejoin me then.
Please click to enlarge to see more garden detailsHave you found "secret gardens" in your community? Wouldn't it be wonderful to join together with others to create one or volunteer to help maintain one? Perhaps you are lucky enough to have one in your own backyard!
I am linking this post to Susan at A Southern Daydreamer "Outdoor Wednesday" weekly blog event. Thank you Susan for hosting this enjoyable event. Please see Susan's blog for links to other blogs participating in this event today.
Ohhh my goodness what lovely work.
ReplyDeleteEspecailly enjoy your mosaics!!
TTFN~~Claudia ♥
Such a beautiful place to walk and look at nature.
ReplyDeleteThis is an extraordinarily beautiful location...thanks for sharing...
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing garden! As far as I know, there are no secret gardens in my town. I walked through a lovely community garden in London last year, in Kensington, I think.
ReplyDeleteIf we just take the time to look around us, we would find that nature provides with us some extraordinary beauty.
ReplyDeleteI love these secret garden posts! Are you seeking them out so you can write about them or did you already know of them? I'd like to imagine you've been on a fun adventure, discovering them yourself just before you share them with us.
ReplyDeleteThanks Pat!
Looks like a nice place to walk
ReplyDeleteI always like brick walkways
Oh My Gracious...... What a beautiful oasis from the hustle & bustle of the city!!
ReplyDeleteLove,
Marilyn
Now that is a beautiful Garden. I've always wanted to walk through a Secret Garden...just like the book.
ReplyDeleteHappy OW
Love Claudie
xo
Pat, All of Venice Beach is lively, not just the shoreline. Me, I like my beach cities a little less lively, personally. But it's fun once in a while.
ReplyDeleteI love these beautiful gardens tended to by volunteers that you find so unexpectedly. another nice post Pat.
ReplyDeleteOkay Pat...that collage will enlarge now ... or at least the new one I put on will. I don't know what happened that the other one wouldn't. I love this garden. I think there is much more respect for nature and history in a large old city like New York that there is in any western city. Out here it's 'rip it up and let's build something new'. Sad.
ReplyDeleteLovely post! like always!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Lovely post! like always!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Isn't it wonderous what people can do when they work together to accomplish a task?
ReplyDeleteMaking the world a better place, one garden at a time.
I just love these secret gardens and am happy to see you share them with the world!
Your collages are wonderful. I clicked, of course. I've noticed notes of flowers and butterflies featured on blogs this week! This looks like a very charming place to spend a few hours. It is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos; what a tranquil oasis.
ReplyDeleteThis seems like the perfect place to be.
ReplyDeleteThat was absolutely beautiful and a great idea for volunteers to maintain. It was well done with pictures and narrative. Blessings
ReplyDeleteQMM
An oasis in the big city. How beautiful! I shall have to spend all my time in Brooklyn when I visit NYC! I left you something on my blog as a thank-you for the enjoyment you give me.
ReplyDeleteHi Pat, your photos of the garden in Brooklyn is beautiful. A place that is beautiful and secluded right in the city is lovely. Thank you for sharing this lovely place.
ReplyDeleteI bet little LEO is growing like a garden weed.. Kids have a way of growing up right before our eyes. He is such a cutie.
Hugs...Jeanne
This is beautiful...looks like a very serene place to visit!
ReplyDeleteThat church is beautiful! :o) I love how you are showing us all the secret gardens of NYC this summer, Pat...another special place here...I love the small gardens of bit cities. They really are an oasis in a concrete jungle. Here in our small town there are not many gardens as such, but there is a nice park--teeny, tiny, but pleasant to walk through. Happy Days, my friend ((HUGS))
ReplyDeletevery pretty!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing these wonderful hidden gardens!!! Such gems.
ReplyDeleteHow I wish I knew about your blog while my daughter was living in Brooklyn!
ReplyDeletePat, I love taking your tours... The butterfly shots are spectacular!! Whew- It takes so long to get to the end of these party lists... but they are so fun to see. hugs, Sue
ReplyDeleteHow's the "Lion Hearted doing?" Just dropped by to see how things were doing. Enjoy the "dog days of summer." Strider
ReplyDeleteWho knew there were so many beautiful secret gardens in Brooklyn?! It is wonderful and all the more so having been done by volunteers! I love stone paths:)
ReplyDeleteAnother lovely secret garden!
ReplyDeleteI'm just checking in from my vacation hide-away...where we have checked out a few 'secret gardens' along the way.
Such a beautiful and happy spot! You always share the best places with us!!
ReplyDeleteI just love the idea of a *secret garden* totally maintained by volunteers...
Love,
Sue
the walkway is heavenly - i'd like to have one like that someday!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely little garden, Pat. Isn't it amazing what you can find when you wander a little "off the beaten path."
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing it through your beautiful pictures.
I know this garden Green Dome Garden it was created by Amir Yarkoni and local volunteers from the hood Amir provides horticultural services in Brooklyn and Manhattan. I think he can b reached at greendomegarden@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteHe is such a genius Knows plants like they are his children. He corrected the soil issues We had 6 years ago in my back yard, my garden has never been better also its worth noting, greendome garden is open mostly on Saturdays. I wish he opened more often.
Ben Alison.