Cincinnati Volunteers Transform Abandoned Hillside Garden

When Kay Schwartz looked at an empty Cincinnati hillside in 1999, she saw something nobody else did: a chance to turn rubble into beauty.

The Liberty Hill slope in Mount Auburn once held rows of Italian homes until they were demolished in the 1970s. For decades, the space sat empty and forgotten.

But Schwartz, a local neighbor, rolled up her sleeves and transformed the abandoned lot into Kay's Garden. She planted flowers, cleared invasive species, and created a green oasis where concrete once stood.

When Schwartz passed away in 2017, Shirley Rosenzweig stepped in to make sure the garden didn't disappear with her. She's been maintaining the space ever since, pulling out dead trees, cutting back bamboo, and fighting honeysuckle that tries to take over.

This spring, Rosenzweig got some serious backup. WLWT news crews volunteered their Friday to help with the garden's spring cleaning, tackling the big jobs that keep the hillside thriving.

Sunny's Take

The volunteers discovered something special about getting their hands dirty for their community. One crew member who admitted to having zero gardening skills found unexpected joy in the work.

"I'm not a gardener, but if I see the flowers, I said, wow, I helped that," they shared. "I have these little things to sprout so I feel good."

That's exactly what Kay's Garden does best. It doesn't just beautify a neighborhood. It connects people to something bigger than themselves.

Rosenzweig knows she's carrying forward more than just a garden. She's keeping alive one woman's belief that empty spaces don't have to stay empty, and that communities grow stronger when neighbors care for shared spaces.

The hillside that once represented loss now represents hope, one spring cleanup at a time.