After five years of planning, persuasion and patience, a once-questioned idea has taken root in Oceanside Cove — and today, its community garden is fully in bloom.
The Oceanside Cove Community Garden is approaching its fifth anniversary, having been built in 2021 by Ed Russo and Dylan Kenny, and now managed by Leona Marx, chairwoman of the garden Committee.
The community garden has been thriving since its recultivation under Marx, despite it taking five years to secure approval from the Oceanside Cove Committee to establish the garden.
“People do not like change, something new,” Marx said. “Maybe the committee did not think people would be that interested, but we always seem to have a waiting list,” she said of the garden beds.
Marx, who is often referred to as a “garden guru,” oversees multiple projects, maintains areas on the outskirts of the main garden and collaborates with maintenance staff on construction efforts, including the recently built pipe trellis that will support tomatoes beginning this summer.
The garden includes 20 raised beds, which are rented by Oceanside Cove residents twice a year at the start of spring and fall. Marx recommends one to two hours of weekly maintenance. Beds rent for $50 each, with proceeds used to purchase seeds, soil and fund small projects.
The garden has been engineered into a sustainable one as well to ensure costs stay low. Plastic bottles are repurposed into planting pots for beans and wildflowers; recycled cardboard is used to suppress weeds; and unused seeds are dried and saved for future seasons. Marx utilizes creative methods such as growing new tomato plants from half a cherry tomato, mixing her own soil and feeding strawberry plants with used coffee grounds.
“The outside of the fence is really my garden because I do a lot of experimental things,” Marx said.
Among her experiments is a German gardening technique in which a bed is filled with fried wildflower stems and covered with soil and compost. She is currently developing a small African keyhole garden along the garden’s outer fence line. The design features a central compost pile and a cutout walkway resembling a keyhole.
“I’ve always gardened,” Marx explained. “I’ve always been in the dirt at some point, but I started 20 or 25 years ago more seriously.”
The garden is located within Oceanside Knolls, part of the Town of Hempstead’s Golden Age zoning program, which provides affordable housing for residents age 62 and older. The community includes 120 units.
Gardening can provide health benefits for seniors, including increased physical activity that supports cardiovascular health and weight management, improved balance that reduces fall risk, enhanced vitamin D exposure, mindfulness and better sleep, according to Greater Good Health.
Andrea Simon, who has served on the Garden Committee for one year, said she recognizes the physical demands involved.
“The thing is, everything looks so nice, but there’s a lot of work involved,” Simon said.
That work, she added, is shared among neighbors. During a recent visit, committee members laughed and chatted while Marx led a tour of the garden. Several said the space has strengthened connections within the community.
“When I was interviewed by the Oceanside Cove Committee, I said, ‘I’m going to miss my plants,’” Simon said. “And they said they have a community garden. They put me in touch with Leona, and I’m thrilled because I got to know a lot of people that way.”
The garden’s impact extends beyond its gates. Randi D’Rourke shares vegetables with the mail carrier, Mickey Ciociano gives produce to a neighbor who uses a wheelchair, and Ying Lee distributes excess harvests to family members — and sometimes beyond.
“I planted seeds with Chinese melon, and they were about 15 pounds each,” Lee said. “They’re like baseball bats, and I had 16 of them. I couldn’t give it out anymore, so I gave it out to all the Chinese takeouts.”
Lee said understanding climate, seasonal changes and crop selection is essential to maintaining a successful community garden.
“I like the fact that we work at it from beginning to end,” she said. “There’s something satisfying about when you grow something from a baby all the way here.”
Members of the Garden Committee said anyone looking to start a community garden not only should, but they would also benefit from having their own “garden guru” to guide the process.
