WEST TOWN — A wooden fence shields a once-empty lot on Grand Avenue from the traffic and bustle of the street. Behind that fence now sits raised flower beds, rows of potted plants and a workstation filled with buckets of cut flowers.
Grand Garden, as the micro-flower garden at 2048 W. Grand Ave. is cheekily known, is the work of Emily Rezetko. Her business, Verdant Place, is partially based out of the garden, where she runs gardening seminars, yoga classes and flower pot decorating sessions, among other events.
The garden opened for the season April 19, when Verdant Place hosted a vegan Easter egg hunt, bouquet making opportunities and family portrait sessions.
Now in its third season, Grand Garden is working with other entrepreneurs to further expand its offerings and allow West Town neighbors to enjoy a slice of greenery in the city, Rezetko said. The garden is open when Rezetko is on-site, and her events are open to the public with online registration.
“It has a community garden feel, but it’s run by me,” she said. “I just want to get people outside and focus on the healing modalities of meditation, flowers, gardening and nature.”
Emily Rezetko, owner of Verdant Place, poses in the Grand Garden. Credit: Provided
Verdant Place started over four years ago and was born out of the pandemic. Laid off from her job as a yoga instructor, Rezetko worked a flower delivery gig that turned into a job with Flowers For Dreams’ “experiential team,” where she taught corporate and virtual flower workshops. She then got the idea to combine her love of yoga with gardening and greenery.
Rezetko rents the vacant lot on Grand Avenue from the owner of Liberation Kitchen, 2054 W. Grand Ave. The restaurant owner bought the property near his business, and his partner asked Rezetko to liven up their unused lot.
Grand Garden has been slowly growing ever since, with Rezetko getting help from neighbors and other environmentally minded local entrepreneurs.
Now, old cartons and buckets-turned-planters cover the rectangular lot. Rezetko is constantly changing out seasonal plants, rotating between blossoms, herbs and catmints. Just two weeks since the garden reopened, she has already started switching tulips out for dahlias.
To cut expenses but also nurture seedlings, Rezetko employs the lasagna gardening method, layering soggy leaves, branches and kitchen compost beneath regular soil. She collected Christmas tree stalks from neighbors and uses them for mulch.
“Same with the leaves,” she said during a garden tour. “Neighbors brought their bags of leaves, and I used them for weed protection. Everything is reusable.”
Grand Garden hosts events including wreath making and pumpkin picking. Credit: Provided
Lexie Braz, part-time photographer under her brand Flash of Obscurity, met Rezetko through an unorthodox exchange. As a bunny owner, Braz has unlimited rabbit feces, “a great fertilizer.”
Braz posted in a Facebook group, hoping to keep the material from going to waste, and Rezetko replied that she would gladly take it for gardening. Now, Braz frequents Verdant Place events as a friend and a photographer specializing in pet portraits.
“That’s how we started our little relationship,” Braz said. “I would drop off some poop for her, and sometimes she would give me flowers the bunnies would eat. It’s a full-circle recycling event.”
Rezetko hosts workshops with fellow wellness specialists such as Nicole Chandler Eng, a reiki practitioner and founder of Westerly Wellbeing. The pair offers restorative yoga sequences with crystal bowl sound therapy, providing students with an immersive experience.
“Collaboration events help lighten the load while still expanding my reach as a business,” Eng said. “We can divide and conquer.”
Tarot reader Sarah Luczko met Rezetko in a yoga class. She now offers readings at Grand Garden.
A flower bouquet workshop held at Verdant Place’s Grand Garden in West Town. Credit: Provided
Before getting to work in the garden, Rezetko often announces her gardening plans on Instagram, inviting interested helpers and friends to swing by. On average, she works five days a week on her mini ecosphere, but she rarely recruits free help.
“I don’t like to feel like I’m taking advantage” of their labor, Rezetko said.
Instead, Rezetko will invite people to help and give volunteers something to walk away with. It could be a fresh bouquet, a crash course on tulips or, for children volunteering through the organization One for One Chicago, a lesson on gardening.
Rezetko also offers yoga classes at Chicago Plants, the plant shop at 2321 W. North Ave., which she turns into a lush yoga studio. The shop offers a similar experience when the garden is out of season and achieves Verdant Place’s goal of getting people into calming, green spaces, she said.
“The trade-off is [that bigger studios’] amenities are much more suited for yoga,” she said of Chicago Plants. “Everybody gets a fancy mat, locker or shower. But this is a beautiful space.”
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