The parks and gardens in the city are overseen by Governor Wilbus Von Pekett, Chief Architect of Urban Renewal and Renovation. He has recently begun an initiative to renovate areas whose parks have fallen into disrepair.
Here are some examples of the "green" places in the city:
Goldenwood
Inner Wheel
A private park that is a walled forest paradise. It is small, only a few hundred feet to a side, but it is sublime. It was said to have been moved in one piece by magic from within an elfwood. Only governors, masters and other wealthy and influential folk are invited to pay yearly dues (rumored to be in excess of 200gd) for access. The park is staffed by elves and humans in elf costumes. There is even a small restaurant that serves "elven specialties" which are nothing of the sort.
Gud Gardens
WarrensThere is an area in the Goblinhome neighborhood of the Warrens where stacks of hovels are crammed along the bluff. Some years ago, dozens of these began planting gardens on balconies. The overall effect is a single hanging garden and has made something otherwise beak quite beautiful. Even better, those that tend these gardens mostly plant food and happily share what they don't need for their own families with those that do. There are weekly neighborhood feasts called "Potties" where every family brings a pot with something hot and "gud" to share and everyone shares a merry revel.
Green Maze
The BazaarAn enterprising gardener got it into his head to try to capitalize on what seemed to be a need for more parks and gardens in the city. He talked some backers into clearing some land in the middle of the Bazaar and set about growing a hedge maze. He figured people would pay to walk among the carefully cultivated bushes while enjoying the game of solving the maze. He was right, at least for a while. He was even able to hire one of the Beastfolk who was a bull and resembled a minotaur. It was an attraction and drew attention to the Bazaar and is in part responsible for establishing its place in the community. When the gardener who had designed, planted and maintained the maze died, his replacement was not a competent and didn't care nearly as much as his predecessor. The "Green" Maze slowly turned brown and patchy. When the original "Minotaur" died the new owners couldn't find a replacement so put a half orc in a costume with a pantomime bull head. The price of admission has fallen from the glory days of 2 silver to an embarrassing 3 copper. The only ones who bother to pay are those that want to exploit to relative privacy offered by the half dead bushes o have clandestine meetings of one sort of another, usually criminal but often carnal (rumor has it that the current "Minotaur" likes to watch).
The Muck
Lower WheelThere are two massive drainage pools where the sewage from the Upper Wheel is washed over the edge of the bluff. One is at the northeast edge of the upper level and the other at the southwest. These pools are lined with layers of gravel and clay and serve as a filtration system as the water passes through on its way to the bay and ultimately down the river and out to sea. These pools are known as "The Muck" and are a slurry of nastiness. It is too toxic because of some of the runoff from the factories and whatever the gnomes are up to in Too to be fertilizer but some things still thrive in and around it. Tough weeds and insects primarily. Lizardfolk live in huts clustered at the edge of the pools. They seem to find wading in the good pleasant - like a spa - and don't at all mind the horrific stench. To each their own.
The "Piss Boy" Fountain
Lower WheelA small park near the heart of the Lower Wheel features a crude statue that was supposed to honor the halfling merchant who sponsored the creation of the park. The placement of the spout and the unfortunate proportions of the piece invariably led to its nickname. Worse yet, it is customary to urinate in the basin. Many attempts have been made to remove it but the merchant's will demanded that the fountain be maintained perpetually. Hundreds of gold were left to ensure its upkeep.
The Promenade
Upper WheelA series of small parks in the upper Wheel arrayed along the wall the surrounds the Inner Wheel. Each park is curated and maintained by a Druid whose craft keeps everything growing and lively in a way traditional gardeners can't hope to match. Each of these parks ends up with a specialty that suits the preferences of its Druid caretaker. As the name suggests the parks can be enjoyed in series by taking a long stroll from one end to the other. At night the light spilling over from the Inner Wheel gives the place a pleasant twilight effect.
The parks of the Promenade are often referred to by a number that is where they would fall on a map with 12:00 being north. There are seven parks, from 7:00 up through 2:00 (so 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 1 and 2).
Park 8 (or 8:00) is tended by a druid so is lush and green. There is a small but beautiful fountain in this park with a plaque that bears the name “Nym” and the emblem of a bow made from a still living branch with three leaves near each end. A flock of awakened birds has made this park their home. There are often several sitting on or near the fountain. They quietly chat among themselves (they are people watchers) and from time to time they sing. When they sing passers by will often hear Nym’s name.
Shroomtown
Lower WheelIn the Dwarfhome neighborhood of the Lower Wheel there is a large cave in the wall of the bluff. Long ago the dwarves discovered that it provided the perfect environment to grow mushrooms, a big part of their native cuisine. Since then, they have reinforced and expanded the cave, filling it with many varieties of the "shrooms" they love. There are dwarves shroom farmers that work here but it is also a garden park of sorts. Dwarven couples in particular find a walk through the shrooms romantic. It is rumored that "Gray Dreamer" shrooms grow here but no one ever seems to be able to find any.
The "Renewal" Fountain
Inner CircleThe focus of a small park at a crossroads in the Inner Wheel is a fountain where steady stream of water flows from a small stationary cloud onto a series of hovering stones into a basin populated by dozens of luminous silver fish. A plaque set into the base bears the word "Renewal" and has been enchanted so that it appears to be in whatever the onlookers primmer language is. The entire arrangement is twenty feet across and near forty feet high. It is customary for those who are ending one phase of their life to enter another to toss a silver coin into the water. The recently divorced have taken to throwing their rings in as well. Countless coins and rings line the bottom of the basin and sparkle brilliantly. No one has taken anything in years. It is said that to do so risks a terrible curse that makes it impossible for the affected to do anything new or change there lives in any way.
Wyldwalk
The SprawlA walled area at the western edge of the Sprawl that is a sort of zoo in a park. Large cages containing beats of various kinds are placed along a winding path. A small fee (usually a silver or so) buys yo a guided tour from someone claiming to be a ranger who clearly isn't. The animals are relatively well cared for but aren't happy to be in cages. When a rare beast or monster is shown the ticket price is raised accordingly. In a recent cross promotion with the Ornery Owlbear tavern an actual Owlbear was brought in. Three silver got you in to see and at the end of the tour you got a token good for an "Owlbear Ale" at the tavern. The combination proved a popular attraction but it went pear shaped when the creature escaped and had to be put down by the guard.
