Please Touch Community Garden Greens Abandoned San Francisco Lot

The <a href="http://pleasetouchgarden.tumblr.com">Please Touch Community Garden</a> is a new garden and art project-in-progress, brightening an abandoned lot in the shadow of San Francisco’s City Hall. The trash-filled vacant space was long a default area for drug use and other activities extending from the nearby alley. Local artist <a href="http://gkcallahan.com/home.html">GK Callahan</a> decided to create something better with the space, and with the help of grants, in-kind donations, and volunteer help, he has created a local meeting spot with a beautiful garden.

Volunteers built comfortable seating from recycled wooden pallets.

This corner used to be filled with weeds and trash, now it houses a cozy recycled bench and patio table.

Artist GK Callahan and a friend try out the newly built recycled furniture.

A Habitile up close - filled with soil, it provides a perfect nook for a small plant.

A small grid of Habitiles covers a low brick wall, but could be used to create a living wall over an entire building.

The Habitiles are attached directly to the wall in a custom arrangement of flat tiles and planter tiles.

The garden is wedged in a narrow space between two buildings and overshadowed by a office building. Nevertheless, it receives enough sunshine to thrive.

Word art sculptures perch on a wall bordering the garden.

Fragrant green hops are ready for harvesting - and ready for their future in a brewing class.