Several previous posts have featured this little garden strip at 301 Preston, immediately north of the Queensway in Little Italy. It was installed several years ago when part of the playing fields at Commerce / Adult HS were removed and paved over as pay parking lot.

During the construction of Preston, I have seen giant steel trench boxes, outhouses, lumber, hoses, tools, you name it, all stacked or dumped on the garden. Yet each time the junk was removed, the garden plants (lillies, grass, few shrubs) resurrected themselves.  This last set of damage is more fatal. Whole sections of garden were removed for the installation of a new fire hydrant and sewer access hatch (person-hole?).  If you look closely at photo two, the tree has been removed — roots and all — from the garden left towards the back on a tilt. There is no sign the plants or shrubs were kept.

The Preston Street BIA plans to enlarge the garden in future, to take up the whole zone from the fence to the sidewalk. It will be very welcome.