Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe joined National Gardening Association (NGA) President Mike Metallo and pre-school children from St. Vartan Play Group to announce the second-annual NYC GROWS gardening festival on Saturday, April 28. Commissioner Benepe read a mayoral proclamation that established the last Saturday in April as a day of gardening and greening activities in New York City. A three dimensional, 10-foot-by-15-foot flower display was also on site, and in celebration of Arbor Day, participants planted a cherry tree adjacent to the George Washington monument on the Park's southern plaza.