Kappock Street garden needs your help

Spring has officially sprung and a local conservationist is asking for the community’s help for the upkeep of the beloved garden she has nurtured for the past 15 years.

On March 12, longtime Spuyten Duyvil resident and native Bronxite, Rita Freed sent an email to supporters and neighbors of the Kappock Street garden asking for their physical or monetary assistance.

“I’ve never asked before, but buying plants will save me lots of seed planting,” Freed said in the letter. “I really need your help.”

The long and narrow garden runs along Kappock Street behind several businesses on Knolls Crescent and continues along a staircase which leads to the strip of shops.

The other sections of the garden include “the tree pits” and “the triangle garden,” which Freed also maintained.

An older adult, Freed’s spinal stenosis and lack of cartilage in her right ankle has limited her ability to work this year due to her “aging joints,” she wrote in the letter in the bid for help.

Three hours a day from May to October, Freed cleans, plants and waters the garden with her husband and a few neighbors coming out to help whenever they can.

During the winter, she works on creating natural fences out of chopped-up Christmas trees to hold the soil secure against the Kappock Street sidewalk. To keep the garden hydrated, she carries jugs of water in a hand truck, which she pushes up and down the street every day.

Freed said she used to receive about $100 each year in contributions towards the garden, compared to $150 she used to receive each year, as previously reported by The Press in 2016.

When asked, she said she couldn’t put a number on how much money would be needed for the garden’s upkeep, but she said any amount helps.

In the letter, Freed proposed “ANY 20” — a 20-minute “crash course” in planting or repair basics. Following the course, volunteers are asked to use their gardening skills for at least 20 minutes within the next few weeks.

She described gardening as an excellent exercise and outdoor activity for children that can beautify both, the environment and the neighborhood. She believes watching the garden blossom may encourage neighbors to care for it. 

When Freed began the garden in the summer of 2009, there was hardly any green on Knolls Crescent. Instead, the cliffs were filled with dirt and refuse. Freed was disgusted to see the neighborhood “knee deep in garbage” and was inspired to create the garden after the city created a nearby green space.

With the help of her husband, she built it from the ground up and took six compost-sized bags to clear the cliff of litter.

As time went on, planting flowers became a deterrent to people tossing trash into the area. Freed also divided the garden into terraces using boulders to beautify the area and make it easier to maintain.

“If [people] think [the area] is neglected because it looks a little straggly, then they’ll just flip their garbage into it,” Freed said to The Press in a 2023 article. “When people see stuff that looks a little more tended, they respect it.”

Given the majority of the area is in the shade, Freed looks for mostly shade-tolerant plants and flowers, including coral bells, astilbe, creeping jenny and sweetspire. During the spring, Freed said she likes to plant Azaleas.

“One person can’t do this all on their own,” Kevin Childress said, who has lived in Spuyten Duyvil for the past seven years. “But Rita is always out and about and making sure this area looks beautiful.”

In the summer of 2023, the garden was vandalized by skaters days before the garden’s 14th anniversary celebration, but Freed and several volunteers were able to clean it up in time for the party. Freed had a special message for the vandals.

“Hey, you’re young and healthy and looking for an outlet for your energy, come and help me garden,” she said. “Half an hour a week, come on, do something for your community.”

She said the litter and vandalism has improved in the past year, but the garden still needs to be maintained in hopes it will turn into a collective community effort.

If residents are unable to donate, they can contribute to the garden’s growth in different ways. Freed’s spring prep takes place on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Sundays from 2 to 4 p.m. To volunteer or make donations, call (718) 601-0490 or email bandrfreed@gmail.com.