The land was cracked, busted up asphalt with weeds and vacant buildings just as desolate.

An abandoned Newark synagogue/church flanked one side. An empty post office and closed meat market was on the other.

It was anybody’s guess what would happen to this neighborhood less than a half-mile from the city’s business district.

Well, if a tree can grow in Brooklyn, then the wellspring of beauty that sprouted from nothing blows your mind today.

Geraniums smell of chocolate, grapefruit and old spice. Flowers are colorful and hard as stone, another soft as lamb’s ear. One plant is so sensitive that its leaves open and close when touched.

Hundreds of flowers and plants live in this urban ecosystem, a habitat crawling with thousands of critters normally found miles away. This place of wonderment was created by the Greater Newark Conservancy, an environmental organization that wants you to sample nature’s abode on 1.5 acres in the Central Ward.

A small stream runs through the Greater Newark Conservancy in Newark

Bring a bag lunch, said Executive Director Robin L. Dougherty, and walk along the trails of its outdoor learning center that started with plants six inches high in 2004. The thicket is so full, no one can grasp the sprawling splendor by peaking through the fence on Springfield Avenue and Prince Street.

"You’re not going to see anything like this elsewhere in the city,’’ Dougherty said. "It’s a cool place to come and learn.’’

A water lily at the Greater Newark Conservancy in Newark

Donna Drew of South Orange heard about it for a while, but didn’t know what to expect the day she popped in.

"It’s like a little oasis in Newark," Drews said. "The different species and the way that it’s organized and laid out. It’s just so thoughtful."

The conservancy has made the public think about its surroundings 25 years in Newark, educating visitors about the environment and how its impacts on our health. The group started out creating community gardens at schools and in neighborhoods on empty lots, but it’s influence reaches beyond workshops on gardening.

Now they have a farm with fruits and vegetables that are sold. They expose ex-offenders to jobs like forestry, landscaping and solar installation. Newark high school students are hired in the summer, gaining an appreciation for the community.

Steven Rodriguez loves how the soil feels between his fingers and wants to have his own garden one day.

"I like the feel of making your own food,’’ Rodriguez said.

Remember that old synagogue/church?

The conservancy is turning it into classrooms, a demonstration kitchen/laboratory, galleries and meeting rooms.

And that post office and meat market? They are offices busy with environmental work.

Nestled between the buildings, discovery takes place. The demonstration garden has plants growing on hangers and a clothes line. More plants and flowers take root in beat up shoes and sneakers. Striped tomatoes are on vines, and basil grows in the shape of a tic-tac-toe board. Next to the garden, you can meditate in the sun dial amphitheater. And yes, the sun dial is real.

"We want people to come here and get ideas of what they can do,’’ Dougherty said. "You might see a toilet sometime out in the garden with flowers growing out of it. We like to reuse things.’’

Along the trail, visitors stroll under wooden canopies with plants on top. Mixed within the topiary, there’s colorful pink Hibiscus plants and indigenous species like snap dragons and witch hazel, a plant Lenape Indians picked when they lived in Newark. Underneath a foot bridge lily pads blanket a pond with bullfrogs, sun fish and a turtle. Dragon flies hover above, bees suck the nectar from flowers, butterflies dance about.

If you get tired, sit down on a bench made from mud, clay, and straw. Watch migratory birds swoop in for food and water, while others nest in 20 foot trees. Possums and racoons roam the grounds. Falcons and hawks drop in, like the one eating a rodent in the compost box.

"We’re kind of like a way station, a rest stop," said Chantal Ludder, horticulturist for the conservancy.

Since it opened, 23,000 kids have been here, but many people still don’t know about this peaceful place.

Now you do.

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