Southside Paradise

June 19, 2008 by missheather
Filed under: Williamsburg

Earlier this week I knocked around the Southside. I didn’t have any reason for doing so, I just felt like going there. Not unlike Greenpoint, the gardening options are very limited in this neighborhood. There are no spacious lawns to exploit, at best there is a tree pit (or two) and 80 square feet of frontage to make one’s own. And the people of Williamsburg’s Southside do. Magnificently!

This poignant reminder of man’s best friend can be found at South 2nd and Berry Street. The stone at the base of the tree reads:

In memory of a faithful friend.

As it would happen when I was taking the above photograph the owner of the house came out. I told him that I thought this was a very touching tribute. He thanked me and told me he still misses his best friend to this day.

Further down the block (heading towards the Domino Sugar Factory) you can find a wild assortment of (what I am guessing are) wildflowers gracing the frontage of a parking lot for the Department of Transportation.

If you have the time and/or inclination, you really should check this out. It is quite beautiful and no amount of picture taking can truly do it justice. Plants jutting out at all angles and flowers— vividly colored all— beg for your attention. It has the feel of an English garden and is a curiously pleasant respite from all the construction and destruction surrounding it.

Of course a lot of people are not afforded the luxury of having garden space. If so, why not take a page from this building on Marcy Avenue and create your own seaside paradise?

On the same, albeit ominous —yet cute— note, this piece of man-made foliage can be found at the Domino Sugar Factory on Kent Street between South 2nd and 3rd Street. Anyone out there care to feed it?

To wrap up I will take you back to South 2nd Street where this festively decorated stoop can be found. When it comes to beautifying one’s surroundings size does not matter. All it takes is a little ingenuity and some elbow grease. This post is for you, Southside Williamsburg! You never cease to make me smile.

Miss Heather