Showing posts with label New York. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York. Show all posts

Friday, August 17, 2012

Nancy on the High Line

The High Line New York City July 2012

The High Line New York City July 2012

The High Line New York City July 2012

The High Line New York City July 2012

The High Line New York City July 2012

After a brief rain shower on Sunday, I walked the High Line in New York City. The plants were lush and vibrant and the landscapes changed every few hundred feet. People were strolling casually, taking in all the sights and sounds, or leisurely relaxing on the reclining seats or benches along the way. Some Japanese youth were dancing on the lawn. The views of the city were magnificent, coupled with the beautiful landscape architecture of the High Line. I intuitively slowed my pace and took it all in.  It is an amazing urban garden.

That description & all of the photos were sent to me by my friend Nancy while she was still on vacation in New York City on July 31, 2012.  It was all so wonderful that I asked her permission to post it to this blog.  The High Line is probably the most renowned recent landscape project in the world & I haven't seen it for myself.  

If you don't know the story, here is a brief history from the High Line websiteThe High Line was built in the 1930s, as part of a massive public-private infrastructure project called the West Side Improvement. It lifted freight traffic 30 feet in the air, removing dangerous trains from the streets of Manhattan's largest industrial district. No trains have run on the High Line since 1980. Friends of the High Line, a community-based non-profit group, formed in 1999 when the historic structure was under threat of demolition. Friends of the High Line works in partnership with the City of New York to preserve and maintain the structure as an elevated public park. Section 1 (Gansevoort Street to West 20th Street) opened to the public in June 2009. Section 2 (West 20th Street to West 30th Street) opened in June 2011.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Wave Hill

 
Wave Hill November 2007

Wave Hill November 2007 Hudson River

Wave Hill November 2007 Trough Gardens

Wave Hill November 2007 Conservatory

 Wave Hill November 2007 Aquatic Garden

Wave Hill November 2007  Perennial Garden


Hudson River from Riverdale Station November 2007

I visited Wave Hill in the Bronx in New York City on November 11, 2007.  From my journal:  On Sunday it was cold & the sun shone brightly.  I spent over an hour at the Harlem Station while changing from the Harlem Line to the Hudson line.  I went a short way up the Hudson River to Riverdale.  The river was beautiful.  In Riverdale I visited Wave Hill.  It was lovely, but modest in scale.  The design was very good.  There were glimpses of the Hudson River between the colorful trees.  According to the New York Times, fall color was peaking, although it was not a particularly colorful fall.  At Wave Hill there was a water garden, a courtyard full of trough gardens, a conservatory & an alpine house, & several terraced gardens on the slope overlooking the river. 

Friday, November 19, 2010

New York Botanical Garden

New York Botanical Garden November 2007

New York Botanical Garden November 2007 Conservatory

New York Botanical Garden November 2007

New York Botanical Garden November 2007 Gift Shop & Cafeteria

New York Botanical Garden November 2007 Restrooms

I visited the New York Botanical Garden on November 8, 2007 with my friend & host.  It was cold & raining lightly.  We got off the Metro-North Harlem local line at Botanical Garden Station & walked a short distance to the Mosholu Gate entrance.  I was very impressed with the structures there. The buildings housing the cafeteria, gift shop & restrooms where beautifully clad in field stone.  It's seldom I take a picture of the restrooms.  The garden here was lovely in fall.  The massive conservatory was nearby.  It was an architectural marvel, but the planting design was poor.  (I'm spoiled by the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle, where the planting design is impeccable.)  Just outside the Haupt Conservatory, there was a sheltered display of kiku, or Japanese Chrysanthemums.  There were also some fantastical woven bamboo art structures.