While this year's winner of the Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest went to tenants along Eastern Parkway, another group of Crown Heights gardeners celebrated their long-time respect for plants and love for one another.
The 300 East 25th Street Block Association, which has won the top prize five times, won the Greenest Mentor Award this year. Gardening efforts are helmed by residents like Dr. Carol Reneau, a science teacher, and Pauline Green, a nurse, who have lived on the block for 28 and 30 years, respectively.
Dotted with cheerful perennials and inspirational quotes, the neighborhood’s gardens are a labor of love that spans several generations.
"When I came on this block, Pauline had already lived here and she saw me, I'm two doors down," said Reneau. "Pauline gave me a hydrangea, and I still have that hydrangea in the back yard."
