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Last fall, it was just an alley -- an uneven, narrow strip of land with tainted soil.

Now, it's an attractive, thriving urban garden.

It's the result of a grant from the Community Foundation of Greensboro and about 70 volunteers. Gardening experts worked alongside inexperienced volunteers who just wanted to be a part of this unique project.

It's called Urban Green, a project of Elsewhere Artist Collaborative. There was this vision to create a sustainable garden -- made mostly with recycled materials -- in an urban setting. But doing so required imagination and innovation.

This garden would need to grow up, more than out. As in up the brick wall. And overhead.

So a bamboo arbor holds hanging cherry tomato plants. An old chair, attached to the brick wall, holds a pot filled with a variety of plants.

An old shoe and a child's toy serve as planters.

Empty wine and beer bottles from nearby restaurants are used to build a wall, which also serves as a seating area.

This garden blooms with white impatiens, passion flowers, asparagus ferns, foxtails, sunflowers, marigolds and Ipomoea -- a kind of morning glory.

And to feed or heal the body, there's ginger, rosemary, thyme, cantaloupe, mint, echinacea, squash, comfrey and sage.

Go see for yourself.

Contact Tina Firesheets at 373-3498 or tina.firesheets@news-record.com