The Manhattan Highline
Last week I visited an astonishing new garden in the heart of an old manufacturing center in Manhattan. The first phase opened this past June and runs for 9 blocks along an abandoned elevated freight line on the far west side of Manhattan from Gansevoort Street in the old meatpacking district up Tenth Avenue and temporarily terminating at Twentieth Street. In 2010 they expect to open section 2 that will double the length of the park bringing it up to 30th street. There has been extensive high-end retail development in the area and there are other visitor-friendly places such as the Chelsea Market, a food concourse directly underneath at 17th street.
When I walked up the stairs to arrive at the park for the first time (I was stirred by it so much I have since been back) I was immediately greeted by the gardens as they run the length of the park on both sides of the center walkway undulating in various widths. After a few moments I noticed how the shrill was gone. The aggressive and sharp noises at street level became muted background noises on the elevated platform.
Other surprises awaited me. There was a series of chaise lounges, made of luxuriously-looking dark-stained hard wood where people were relaxing, reading, or have a pleasant conversation in small groups. The seats were in a line, but staggered at different intervals. I then realized that they were moveable because they were on small metal wheels on top of the old rail lines so the lounges could be rolled to the right or left. The view looked out between two buildings directly onto the Hudson River.
The gardens are naturalistic plantings with a focus on native plants. It was a joy to see many of the plants that I have highlighted in my columns over the years. It’s interesting to note that the High Line's plantings are inspired by the self-seeded landscape that grew on the out-of-use elevated rail tracks during the 25 years after the trains stopped running. Many of the species that originally grew on the High Line's rail bed are incorporated into the park landscape. Also of interest is the collaboration of the world-renowned landscape designer Piet Oudolf in the design. The gardens can be viewed at the web site www.thehighline.org.
There are 210 species used in this first section and they bloom from late January to mid-November. I especially enjoyed the liberal use of native grasses interspersed with flowering perennials. The beauty and accomplishment of this garden is the naturalistic design that was made by specifically placing thousands and thousands of plants in a way that looked as though nature itself had done that. The gardens segue through many different types of vegetation – from areas with trees underplanted with taller grasses to prairie-like fields, to sweeps of flowering perennials, and on and on.
As I have pointed out in previous columns, ornamental grasses are key plants for the natural landscape. They grow natively on all continents and are present in almost all ecological associations. Grasses are the dominant vegetation in such places as savannas, where we humans first evolved, in the steppes, and over much of North America in the plains and the prairies. It’s no wonder why grasses evoke the natural landscape.
Ornamental grasses are a stunningly versatile group, and many possibilities are exhibited in the designs in the Highline. In your own garden the possibilities are only limited by your imagination. Consider that grasses include species and cultivated varieties that can be used as specimens, accents, groundcovers, masses, hedges, container subjects and numerous other purposes. For a stimulating sample of ideas enjoy a visit to the new Highline in Manhattan.
