Urban Garden Center in the News

Our family business started in 1959 as Dimitri's Garden Center. It grew up on East 86th Street, moved to East Harlem, and today is Urban Garden Center under the Park Avenue Viaduct. Over the years, New York's newspapers, magazines and TV stations have stopped by. Here's a selection. Links open on each publisher's site.

Features and profiles

• NY1, June 2024: Tracking down a family business in East Harlem. A profile of the store and the family behind it.
• CBS New York, July 2022: Shop Local Saturday: Urban Garden Center, with two more segments on tropical plants and watering tips.
• Garden Center magazine, August 2020: Ahead of the trends. A cover story on our family's history and how the store keeps adapting.
• Turnstile Tours, June 2020: A Rose in Spanish Harlem: Gardening with Urban Garden Center. A video tour of the garden center with gardening tips.
• The Strategist (New York Magazine), May 2020: New York Garden Nurseries Still Open During the Coronavirus.
• The New York Times, December 2018: Selling Christmas Trees Beneath the Train Tracks.
• Food Tank, July 2013: Food Hero: Dimitri Gatanas, Founder of Harlem's Urban Garden Center.
• The New York Times, July 2012: Amid the Mulch, Musical Notes. A Neighborhood Joint feature on live music in our greenhouse.
• Garden Center magazine, 2011: One-on-One with Dimitri Gatanas, on rooftop and terrace gardening, and the video Big-city retailing at Urban Garden Center.
• New York Magazine, July 2006: Ask a Shop Clerk: Dimitri Gatanas of Dimitri's Garden Center.
• New York Daily News, August 2001: Exec Returns to His Roots: E. Harlem Nursery Is a Family Tradition.

Guides and seasonal stories

• ABC7 New York, December 2025: Here's how much real Christmas trees cost around New York City.
• CBS New York, November 2020: Christmas Trees Already In High Demand.
• CBS New York, 2016: Best Garden Centers In New York City, NYC's Best Garden Supply Stores and Gardening Experts Weigh In On What's Best To Plant.
• CBS New York, April 2012: 5 Edible Items To Grow On Your New York Rooftop This Summer.

In the community

• PIX11, December 2023: Harlem Night Market returns to a unique, historic location just in time for the holidays.
• HowlRound Theatre Commons, October 2015: Garden of Inspiration. A theater performance staged at the garden center.
• Untapped New York, June 2013: Flea Marqueta Celebrates Harlem's Past and Present.
• New York Daily News, June 2013: A flea market is coming to La Marqueta.

From the archives: Dimitri's Garden Center

• The New York Times, March 2005: It Pays to Plant a Street Tree.
• The New York Times, February 2000: Firewood for Those With Money to Burn.
• The New York Times, December 1999: The Wood Man Cometh, Bearing Comfort and Joy.
• New York Magazine, September 1999: Where To Find It.
• The New York Times, May 1994: Nurseries For Every Gardener.
• The New York Times, March 1987: Flower Shows Offer a Hint of Spring.
• The New York Times, April 1984: Sources in City for Plants and Supplies.
• The New York Times, November 1979: In Winter Sun, a Windowsill Herb Garden.

Writing about Urban Garden Center? Call us at 646-389-4299 or get in touch.