Unless you live in New York City and walk the High Line on a regular basis, you'll miss some of its most notable highlights. But now, plantsman and designer Piet Oudolf and photographer Rick Darke have teamed up to clue you in on its separate gardens and the plants that characterize them throughout the year.
In Gardens of the High Line: Elevating the Nature of Modern Landscapes
In the introduction to the book, High Line co-founder Robert Hammond notes that the gardens built upon an abandoned, elevated railroad track are not just a field of wildflowers. Rather, he says, "...it's an art museum on an industrial structure. It's a community space running a mile and a half through several neighborhoods. It's a botanical garden suspended over city streets. Unlike Central Park, it's an immersion in the city, not an escape from it."
The book takes you through the design of the High Line and the many historic gardens that influenced the plan and the plantings.
From there, it takes you on a journey from the Gansevoort Woodland (Gansevoort Street to Little West 12th Street) to the Rail Yards from West 30th to West 34th Street. The 13 gardens of the High Line all have their own distinct plantings and distinct moods, from the serene lawn and seating area at the 23rd Street Lawn and Seating Steps to the Chelsea Thicket -- a tunnel-like passageway with layer upon layer of trees and shrubs.
The authors explain the concept behind each garden, and each one is accompanied by several pages of stunning photos by Rick Darke that take you through each garden's notable seasons.
If you haven't visited the High Line, you can walk it through this book -- or if you have been there, you can now see it in all its seasonal glory. A book to treasure forever.
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