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Long Island Botanic Garden Reopens Following Devastation From Sandy

ALBERTSON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - The Clark Botanic Garden on Long Island has reopened, six months after superstorm Sandy hit.

The 12-acre garden in Albertson suffered severe damage when the Oct. 29 storm ripped through. More than 40 trees were knocked down, including some that were 60 feet tall.

Many of the shrubs, bushes, beehives and fences were also destroyed in Sandy.

Town of North Hempstead horticulturist Ryan Torres said while flowers are blooming now, the devastation is still apparent.

Long Island Botanic Garden Reopens Following Devastation From Sandy

"There is a lot more environmental differences. sun where we didn't necessarily have it before, paths that are a little more open than they were before," Torres told WCBS 880's Sophia Hall.

Clark Botanic Garden
Clark Botanic Garden, April 24, 2013. (credit: Sophia Hall/WCBS 880)

She said it's going to be a while before the garden is the way it was before Sandy.

"I can plant nice big trees, but I can't make them grow any faster. So it is going to be probably a few decades before Clark Gardens is exactly what it was," Torres told Hall.

The garden has launched Project 40, a fundraising effort to replant 40 trees by the end of this year.

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