Wildflower fields, woodland alleys, thickets, and grasslands did not come to mind when I took off to Manhattan for a Saturday afternoon with friends. I anticipated dodging traffic and fast paced pedestrians in Prada as I toured around with my neck tweaked to gawk upward at the skyscrapers. You can imagine my delight when my friends announced that our city scoping would be from the newly opened section of the High Line Park. Good friends who know what you’ll geek-out over are true treasures.

WHAT: The High Line

• A mile-and-a-half-long elevated public park
• Formerly an elevated freight line constructed in the 1930’s to keep Manhattan’s streets free from the dangerous train traffic
• It features an integrated landscape, combining meandering concrete pathways, and public lounging areas

WHERE: Manhattan’s West Side

• Gansevoort Street in The meatpacking District to 34th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues

WHEN: Section One is now open to the public

• Section One runs from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street
• Access Points include Gansevoort Street, 14th Street, 16th Street (elevator access), 18th Street and 20th Street

WHO:

• Friends of the High Line raise private funds to maintain the park
• Landscape architects James Corner Field Operations
• Architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro

WHY: It’s really cool

• The High Line in Bloom
• Melissa Fisher, Director of Horticulture
• Planting the High Line
• What they are growing #1
• What they are growing #2
• How they are growing

The Landscape was inspired by what was already growing on the rail line after it was no longer in use. It is believed that Guerilla gardeners had cultivated sections of the High Line. Some of their plantings naturalized across the rails creating perennial fields and grassy meadows, out of which the new planting design evolved. The High Line landscape is a soothing mix of textures and colors that flow seemlessly into the walkways and surrounding architecture. The tall meadows include combinations of fescue, miscanthus, and fountain grass. You will find a mix of artemisia, heuchera, monarda, persicaria, salvia, and more throughout the mixed perennial section.