The Octopus Garden, Pittsburgh

One quirky bit of Pittsburgh (admittedly not downtown) is the Octopus Garden in the Friendship neighborhood. Founded in 2009, it provides a spot for growing vegetables and fruit. Community gatherings are hosted there too. We came on an early Wednesday morning, so no one was about. 

Street entrance to the garden

Among the many raised garden beds, my wife and my daughter found a seed library to bring a bit of the fun home. 

Searching through the garden

More of the garden

The garden features Octavia, the titular Octopus. Both sides of her mosaic head have smiling faces, greeting visitor from either the front or back entrances.

Octavia the Octopus

A chalk board lets visitors leave a message or their own art work. A little free library lets people exchange a book or two.

Give and take area

Toward the back is Doris, a cousin to the Loch Ness Monsters. She and Octavia were created by local artists Lauren Jean McLaughlin and Bob Zille. Doris provides seats on her back and a small birdhouse on her tail. The added whimsy of the sculptures makes this a fun, hidden spot.

Doris

While in the area, we walked over to Third Space Bakery to get some treats. We ate so fast, we had no time for pictures!