Best City-Grown Flowers Bloom In East Harlem Community Garden, Judges Say

EAST HARLEM, NY - Nobody touches East Harlem when it comes to pruning the finest city-grown flowers. In a grow-off against hundreds of community gardens in all five borough, a tiny plot of land on Lexington Avenue was deemed to have the best blooms.

Maggie's Magic Garden, a strip of land nestled between East 101st and 100th streets, took the Best Garden Bouquet crown at the GreenThumb Harvest Fair held at the Brooklyn Bears' Pacific Garden in Fort Greene this month. (For more local stories, subscribe to Patch for daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

The East Harlem spot also won for best honey and best jam - with gardener Mario Murrio taking all three prizes. Rafael Nutis was awarded for growing the city's most impressive summer squash on the plot.

GreenThumb is the arm of NYC Parks responsible for the city's 550 community gardens, most of which were formerly derelict patches of land lovingly transformed by volunteers.

Lead image of Maria Murrio with her prizewinning bouquet courtesy of Danny Avila/NYC Parks