The Manhattan Botanical Garden.

Pier 84 sits at the very West End of Forty-fourth Street, between the Intrepid Sea and Air Museum and the Circle Line docks. Grace Kelly launched from there on her famous trip to wed the King of Monaco. European boats stopped there to unload vacationers before continuing on to Ellis Island with its immigrant passengers. And since 1995 it has also been home to a community garden, the flagship location of The Manhattan Botanical Garden, or MBG.

According to Barbara Feldt, the Director of MBG, the citywide concept was developed to create green space in the urban environment. "There just wasn't enough land to make a Manhattan Botanical Garden, like the ones in other boroughs," says Feldt. "So we developed the idea that satellite gardens throughout Manhattan, following certain guidelines, could all join together."

The result consists of forty community gardens from North Harlem to Chinatown, all tended by volunteer gardeners. The only requirements for Membership in MBG are that the space be visible to the public and that the garden utilizes native plants. In 1998, the garden came under threat when the Intrepid Museum requested the city-owned space in order to build a heliport. The community, fearing the damage to their quality of life, waged a David versus Goliath battle to keep the space for the garden. And won. However, it was revealed that the pilings of the pier were severely comprised by Marine Borer Worms and had become unsafe. The rebuilding of the pier provided an opportunity for the city parks department, the Hudson River Parks Trust, and Feldt's grass-roots group, Friends of Pier 84, to redesign the garden.

Feldt, who had discovered Sitecraft at a cooperative trade show several years before, insisted that their furnishings be used when rebuilding the garden. "They have the most amazing selection of sizes, and shapes," offers Feldt. "They can realize any design solution." Since there is no soil on the pier the entire garden is comprised of Clear All Heart California Redwood containers.

Feldt is enthusiastic about the way the furnishings blend so completely into nature. "I wanted to design a container garden made of the finest materials which would last a good long time, "says Feldt. "There was no other choice than Sitecraft." She even consulted an expert who made design alterations in order to create the most beneficial flow of energy for the space, based on the ancient Chinese art of Feng Shui.

The mostly-completed garden was unveiled at the not-for profit Manhattan Botanical Garden's annual Garden Party fund raiser last summer. The garden at Pier 84 is considered the prototype, an inspiration to other urban gardeners of what can be done with love, creativity and indigenous plants.

On Sunday June 17th, The Manhattan Botanical Garden will host a Spring Show.