World's Fair garden in Staten Island

Most people who walk into a septic cleaning facility wouldn't expect to see more foliage then in a rain forest.

Then again, most people don't have Michael Fortunato's green thumb.

"When I was a kid, I won a medal from the Herald Tribune as the best junior gardener in the city," boasted the Tottenville horticulturist, planting since he was 10. "It's framed and hanging in the principal's office over at PS 18."

And despite winding up with a career in the septic tank industry, a very successful one for that matter, the love of plants never left the 76-year-old Fortunato.

A one-of-a-kind green thumb

...over the years, the boulders have become pedestals for mosses and ivies; the saplings have turned into a lush green backdrop, and the flowers have given rainbow blankets to earth.

Other unique items include the bamboo garden, the cauldron of ruby-red flora, and the ivy-laden porcelain of a bathroom sink. Then there's most notably, the famous Trylon and Perisphere from the 1939 World's Fair, rescued during a repair job and converted into garden centerpieces.

He also grows vegetables with faces. Really.