West Farms Horticulture Room: Where People Can Grow
In the concrete jungle, a dose of nature is both a relief and a blessing. In the Bronx, where greenage is sometimes hard to come by, a new and necessary space is blossoming with hope and joy while offering valuable skills for life.
CP Unlimited’s Horticulture room at West Farms used to be a quiet respite with a few small wheatgrass plants. Now, it is full of tomato and zucchini, philodendrons, sansevieria, dracaena, aloe, birds of paradise, and other colorful, natural species thanks to a partnership with the DreamStreet organization and the perseverance and patience of CPU’s persons supported.
Said Boris, one of the participants, “Plants are good because you can grow flowers and fruit! We water them…and it takes about 2-3 or 5 weeks to see something.“
For Day Hab attendees, it is more than just walls and a ceiling: it is a room where they can find peace, pleasure, and people practicing while propagating. In the future, the plan will be to not only fill the space with greenery but a source of support as they sell plants grown to the community.
Educator Jess Henderson explains what the horticulture room truly offers planting program participants:
See our photo slideshow of a recent, hands-on lesson:
