Most people who climb the Gansevoort Street stairs to see the new High Line park for the first time are instantly enthralled with the wide-angle views of the Hudson and New York Harbor.
They see a fantastic new park and strolling area set just above the streetscape of this fast-growing West Chelsea neighborhood.
(Photos by Mark Vergari and Robert Rodriguez)
Mike Bradley, who lives in Irvington, has a whole other view of the park. He sees soil depths, construction trailers that need to be moved, walkie-talkies that need to be synchronized, dropped paper cups, burps in the computerized lighting system and a cranky water feature in need of more tinkering from its designer.
Here’s Mike:
While we amble around the new park admiring the pretty flowers and enjoying the views, Bradley sweats the details. As the park administrator working for the city Department of Parks and Recreation, he’s the top guy overseeing a host of workers from the city as well as the nonprofit Friends of the High Line, which has already raised $44 million to help maintain and run the 3-acre park that runs north from Gansevoort in the West Village to West 20th Street and 10th Avenue.
Section 2, which Bradley says should be done by the end of next year, will extend the park north to West 30th Street.
“The city is still ultimately responsible for everything, so I have to be the day-to-day person responsible for making sure that nothing bad happens, that people are happy, that the park opens and closes on time, that everything is clean, the bathrooms are well maintained – all of the things that never stop,” Bradley says. He came on board in November 2006, overseeing the final design and construction phase after doing similar work on two other waterfront parks on the West Side.
“Savor the Final Sunset Wednesday of 2009
WEDNESDAY, JULY 29
Grounds Open until 8:30PM
Wave Hill Café and the Shop at Wave Hill open until 8PM
(photo from Wave Hill)
“Don’t miss your chance to watch the sun set over the Hudson River and Palisades on the last Sunset Wednesday of the season. Enjoy free New York State wine tastings and meet the butchers of Fleisher’s Grass-fed and Organic Meats, recently featured in the New York Times. Participate in a Sunset Poetry workshop. Reserve a Sunset Supper and dine on the terrace. Cash bar available.
Getting here is easy.
Wave Hill provides free shuttle service between the front gate, Metro-North’s Railroad Riverdale station and the #1 subway train at West 242nd Street. Shuttle schedules, pick-up and drop-off points at wavehill.org.
Wave Hill is accessible by car, MTA Express bus, Metro-North, the A subway to Bx7 bus, #1 subway to Bx7/Bx10 buses.
Purchase a Metro-North Getaway Package from Grand Central Terminal or Harlem-125th Street, and receive discounts on round-trip rail fare and admission to Wave Hill. Offer valid July 1–September 30.
West 249th Street and Independence Ave., Bronx, NY 10471-2899 718.549.3200
www.wavehill.org
Aug. 6 North Salem: Conversations with Expert Gardeners. Listen to and ask questions of local gardeners. Free. Noon. Ruth Keeler Memorial Library, 276 Titicus Road. 914-669-5161.
Aug. 14 Cold Spring: Farm Tour. 90-minute tour of the farm and gardens. Reservations. Free. 3 p.m. Glynwood Center, Glynwood Road and Route 301. 845-265-3338.
Hi. Liz Johnson here again. I also filled in for Bill on the garden page in the paper this week. Here’s my short story about anise hyssop.
Most gardeners find out pretty quickly that mint needs to be corralled — one spring pulling volunteer plants will teach you that.
So it was with a bit of trepidation that last year I planted anise hyssop, a member of the Lamiaceae (Labiatae), or mint, family.
Perennials
• Start collecting flowers for drying. Pick them in late morning after the dew has thoroughly dried. Remove leaves from the stems and hang in small bunches. Use elastic bands to attach the bunches to coat hangers, which can be hung near the furnace or in a dry attic. Achillea, lavender and golden rod can be dried this way.
Hi — Liz Johnson here. Normally I write about food (my blog here) but I’m also a pretty avid gardener, at least when it comes to edibles. I guess that’s why, when on a recent vacation to Tennessee, I came across a couple of plants I could not identify. But I’m very curious about them.
I thought — since Bill is off this week, I’d take the opportunity to post for him, and ask your help. I’m sure the readers of this blog know a lot more about plants than I do!
Here’s the first one:
It’s spiky like agave or something, and has this long spikey flower coming out it. I’m guessing that the flower then turned into the weird looking fruit you see above.
As you can see, this is growing in a very hot and dry area in full sun. I don’ t know what zone, but this is near Chattanooga.
The fruit:
The next flower I couldn’t identify was growing right along the edge of the lake.
It’s got three-pointed leaves and a red stem. It looks a lot like poison ivy. Is it?
And here’s my last one. It was growing right alongside the white flowers. Could this be trumpet vine?
Your thoughts below on plants 1, 2 and 3? Thank you for any help!
News from Barbara Israel Garden Antiques; a link to earlier post about the Garden Traditions line:
“Garden Traditions by Barbara Israel is pleased to present two additions to our line—the Goodwood Frog and the Walton Sundial.
“The charming Goodwood Frog is modeled after a ca. 1930s English stoneware original manufactured by Doulton. Measuring 12.5 inches tall on a 10-inch square base, the Goodwood Frog is appropriate for any garden large or small, and can be used as either a fountain or an ornament. It is available in all three colors light buff, granite and limestone.
Barbara Israel has long contended that adding a well-proportioned and beautiful sundial to a garden is one of the most effective ways to transform an outdoor space. Read more of this entry »
“Affluent Americans are investing in outdoor living
“Affluents are spending more on their outdoor living spaces, giving a much needed boost to category retailers and marketers during this recession. Spending by affluents on outdoor living “luxuries” rose 22.6 percent from 2007 to 2008. Continued strong demand for home improvements to outdoor living areas in the first quarter 2009 boosted affluent spending by 33 percent from the same period last year. This makes outdoor living a particularly strong category in an otherwise dismal consumer market. As the summer season heats up, prospects are good for continued growth in the outdoor living market, says Pam Danziger president of Unity Marketing and author of a new trend report on the outdoor living market, entitled Reaping the Fruits of the Recession—A Trend Report on the Market for Outdoor Living Luxuries.
Bill Cary grew up in Louisville, Ky. His gardening was limited to growing parsley and impatiens on the windowsill of Manhattan walkups until the mid-1990s when he bought a rundown old chicken farm on 8 acres in the Hudson Valley. Now he spends his weekends chasing deer, hacking away at invasive shrubs and vines and wondering why he doesn`t have more meadow and less lawn.
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Bill Cary grew up in Louisville, Ky. His gardening was limited to growing parsley and impatiens on the windowsill of Manhattan walkups until the mid-1990s when he bought a rundown old chicken farm on 8 acres in the Hudson Valley. Now he spends his weekends chasing deer, hacking away at invasive shrubs and vines and wondering why he doesn`t have more meadow and less lawn.
