High (Line)

A beautiful echinacea plant blooming in the heart of....

Manhattan?  Just the thing for a dreary spring day in the Northeast U.S..

My post for the letter H in the Blogging from A to Z challenge is devoted to a park that surprises many who visit New York City - the High Line.  My theme is America the Beautiful.  And, right now, the Northeast United States is starved for spring.

If you think that New York City is a city devoid of green, think again. 

Take a walk on the High Line, especially in summer, and you will see a different New York City than you have ever imagined.

Let us climb these stairs and let me take you on a walk on the High Line -  a walk my spouse and I took back in July of 2013.  At the time, the High Line was not yet completed - it is, now.

The High Line is an elevated park in Manhattan (the borough of New York City that most people think of when they think of New York City) that was originally an elevated freight line.  The last train ran in 1980.  The first part of the High Line opened in 2009.

Taken from below

The park features the most beautiful displays of prairie and other wildflowers, trees plus artworks (sculpture, etc.), water features, and refreshment vendors.  You can download a flower guide from the High Line website if you are interested in the flowers you see in season.

Here is one of the pieces of art on display when we walked.  These change periodically, and you can download a guide to the art, too.

From the High Line you see a combination of old and new buildings.

So many people walk on the High Line that advertisers target them with clever signs.

I will leave you with one more view of flowers thriving in Manhattan.

You'll never think of New York City in the same way again.

The Rattlesnake Master of Manhattan

Two weeks ago last Friday, on another hot Friday afternoon, my spouse and I walked the High Line, an elevated park in Manhattan, in New York City.  Come along with me on a virtual walk and you will see a "rattlesnake master."  But first...

Clethra barbinervis

 These pictures were taken near the Gansevoort Street entry point of the High Line.  The Clethra
 might not be hardy where I live in upstate New York but, I think it is attractive.  It's supposed to have good fall color, too.

Clerodendrum trichotomum

Eryngium yuccifolium

This last plant above is commonly called rattlesnake master.  There's even a run in Illinois named after this prairie plant.  It was named out of a belief that its root could be used to treat rattlesnake bite. (For my European readers, rattlesnakes are a poisonous snake of North and South America.) From my research, this doesn't appear to grow in upstate New York, but could possibly grow in the New York City area.  I've certain never seen this here.

Thanks to the bloom guide on the High Line website, I was able to identify the flowers in this post.

Ruellia humilis

Finally, deviating from the white theme - a flower I have not seen in years (I don't think) - wild petunia.

Only strange people like me, I guess, visit Manhattan to see wildflowers.  But, in the annals of strange, I'm sure this doesn't even rate.

Do you visit places known mainly for one thing, to see something totally different?

The Story of Jessie

Interesting things happen on the elevated New York City park called the High Line. 
 
Does this remind you of a woman who has, perhaps, doused herself in water to escape the July heat?

No. This isn't a woman who decided to drench herself in water to escape the heat.

It is public art.  Here's the biography of "Jessie":

And now, look what happens when another artist, Jeff Greenspan, puts a tip jar in front of this statue.  The video lasts only a little more than a minute, and has gathered over 1,277,000 views on You Tube.

Poor Jessie.  The subject of a psychological experiment?  A trick played on tourists?  A public art performance?

It makes me wonder, though - what happened to the money the artist collected?  I hope, at least, that he donated it to the High Line.

If you had been there, what do you think you would have done?

Busted! on the High Line

Well, that should get my blog fans and friends to talking.

No, dear friends, I was not arrested on the High Line, an elevated park located on the West Side of Manhattan, which was formerly used by freight trains. Note the "!" in the title.

After I got past the initial rush of being surrounded by flowers and trees on the West Side of Manhattan, I noticed something was looking at me.

A bust.

"Busted" is an exhibition of  pieces of public art, which will run into next year.  Not all of them, technically, are busts.  But, they are there until next April, for our enjoyment. 

This is a bust of Colin Powell, former four-star general and Secretary of State of the United States. (He was even offered the chance of running for President but declined.) He was born in Harlem but raised in my native Bronx.

Yes, Colin Powell has been Busted!

Here's one called "Untitled-Top Gates Mask".

And its sign.

One empty pedestal was left empty on purpose, so people could vote on a 10th "bust". It would be made of the winner of the vote.

The people have spoken.  And, alas, it wasn't me.  Just as well - I'm sure the pigeons would have loved the opportunity.

Would you want to have a piece of public art created in your image?

Signs above Manhattan

Last Friday, my spouse and I walked the High Line, the elevated New York park that was formerly freight train tracks, for the first time.  Although it was our first time, it won't be our last.

One thing you can say about New York City weather in July - it is hot. And humid.  But despite that, crowds walked the High Line. 

With a head half spinning from the heat, and totally disoriented with the joy of being surrounded by trees and flowers in Manhattan, I started taking pictures.

Something that struck me right away were the signs on nearby buildings.  After all, when you have four million visitors to a place each year, you want to have your sign out there.

For example, Patagonia asks us to take an "environmental pledge". (I don't buy their clothing, so this is not an endorsement.)  Why not, near a park dedicated to the environment?

Then, I saw this sign above 10th Avenue in Chelsea.  Apparently, this sign is a favorite of people on Flickr.  It's one of my favorites, too.  This was our first view and the sign was so perfect against the Manhattan building backdrop.

And then, we got a little closer.  It really was for a parking lot!  Considering that it really does take a miracle to find parking in most of Manhattan - I think the Almighty would really rather have residents and tourists take the subway (we did) and let Him concentrate on the really important stuff.

Finally, I am going to be mean and make your mouth water.  Here are signs by a couple of the food vendors on the High Line. 

In New York City, foods blend together.  There was also a "taco truck" and a gourmet "soda works".

Tomorrow, a special Simply Summer post. I'll resume blogging about the High Line- its flowers and its arts - later this week or next.

Welcome to the High Line

On a hot summer day in Manhattan, we visited a park.  It was 93 degrees and humid, but nothing was going to stop us.

Echinacea purpurea "Vintage Wine"

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This is what the park looks like from street level as you walk on the cobblestones of  Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District.


Once upon a time, this park was a "spur" of the New York Central Railroad.  Freight trains ran on this from 1934 to 1980.  Then, for years, it sat there, abandoned.  Eventually,  CSX Transportation, Inc. donated the abandoned line to the City of New York.

Some of the original track is still there, planted in flowers, grasses and trees.

Climb these stairs (or take the elevator) and prepare to be amazed.  You are about to walk on the High Line.

What is the High Line? It is trees, plants, wildflowers, domestic flowers, grasses, food vendors, young people, old people.  Four million people a year visit it.  It even has a blog.  One mile of the 1.45 miles is now open.  The park won't be complete until 2014, but there is so much to see now.

If you aren't into plants, look at the public art (more on that in another post).  If you aren't into art, look at the signs, and the city scenery around you.  No matter how many times you have seen Manhattan (I am a native New Yorker, by the way, and lived there for some 21 years) you haven't seen the biggest city in our country like this.

Come with me on my High Line walk.  I'll be posting photos (and details) from time to time in the coming weeks.

What is your favorite public park?

Sustainable Saturday - Up on the Roof and the Fire Escape

It's July and summer is already a couple of weeks old.  New York gardening season is in full swing.

Especially in New York City.

New York City?  The land of the "concrete canyon"? Well, yes.  Wherever you find a spare piece of ground near where people live, you may well find green sights like these:

Photographed from the High Line elevated park, Manhattan, New York City (see low building on left side, with trees.  Yes, this is a rooftop garden - and they may well have edibles planted there, too.)  (And yes, I am going to do a feature on my visit to the High Line next week.)

I think this plant may be a luffa plant - but whatever it is, it is climbing up a fire escape ladder in Brooklyn.

A Brooklyn zucchini, growing in a narrow strip between an apartment building and the sidewalk.  And here are some more plants in that garden:

Swiss chard and tomatoes.

Eggplant in back, tomato in front.

No dirt?  No problem!  Here's a tomato plant in a container. Doesn't need to be a fancy container, either. (Apartment dwellers do have other challenges - which I am well aware of as I lived in an apartment without a balcony or access to the roof for some 21 years.)

And dill.

Finally, in a small backyard - a fig tree. (Wish we could have good fig trees by where I live in upstate New York.)  See the small trunk next to the pole.

Have you seen gardens in large cities?  Does your city have any special program to encourage them?