TGE SG Directory 2026

30 2026 | Tower Grove East & South Grand Community Directory Tower Grove East Community Garden Brightens Neighborhood with Plants and Parties In October 2025, the Tower Grove East Community Garden held its fourth annual Haunted Garden. The Halloween party is fast becoming a local tradition, drawing several hundred neighbors to the corner of Virginia Avenue and Sidney Street. The alien- themed event featured costume showcases for pets and children, decorations, candy giveaways, drinks, a silent auction and a tour of the haunted garden. In addition, part of Sidney Street was closed to accommodate a DJ, food truck and fire pits. A hayride shuttled guests between the garden and the TGE Community Orchard on Virginia Avenue. The garden also hosted a Summer Solstice party. In addition to the social events, the garden: • Serves the community with a free food and garden produce shelf • Holds an annual plant sale in May • Makes compost and mulch available in a space accessible to both gardeners and neighbors • Works with local beekeepers • Provides a canopy of sunflowers for passersby on Sidney Street Each year, gardeners pay $40 for a large bed or $20 for a small bed, which they are expected to keep planted and weeded. All gardeners are assigned general areas to maintain inside and outside the fence during workdays. No pesticides or herbicides are allowed. For $10, you can also become a “Friend of the Garden,” which allows you to vote at the general meetings, hold office and participate in social events. Friends are also allowed access to common areas and their bounty—honey, grapes, herbs, raspberries and blackberries. The garden at 3303-3307 Sidney Street, between Virginia and Louisiana avenues, was the project and vision of the Green Team, a group of more than 40 dedicated Tower Grove East residents and friends. It received financial and material support from the Tower Grove East Neighborhood Association, then-Alderman Lewis Reed, the city of St. Louis Forestry Division, Gateway Greening (now Seed St. Louis) and Operation Brightside (now Brightside). The co-captains of the garden, Debra Peppers and Melisa McLean, also gathered support from neighborhood businesses and organizations as well as TGE residents. After much work, it opened in 1999. The garden almost disappeared in 2018 when a developer sought to buy the land. The corner lot, formerly the site of a six-flat apartment building, was owned by the St. Louis Land Reutilization Authority (LRA), which takes over vacant properties in the city. It had been rented