31/03/2026
The High Line gardens in NYC. Was a destination for me.
I love the idea of nature reclaiming urban decay. This garden used to be an elevated freight train line. This is a garden designed by Peit Oudoff in the 90s. When I was a student I used to get the ASLA magazine and this garden was introduced to me in the late 90s. I was impressed of the concept of an elevated garden. I had so many questions; How do trees grow in an elevated situation? How do you irrigate it and handle run off? How does it get maintained and remove the debris from an elevated situation?
I found myself feeling impressed by the scale and height of the trees. The design is exquisite. I was surprised how I also felt conflicted on what we expect nature to do in an urban setting. We unconsciously ask a tremendous amount from trees in an urban setting. We confine their roots, we expose them to large amounts of pollution and the trees cooperate for the most part.
Urban gardens are necessary for many reasons: exposure to nature, habitat for wildlife and pollinators, carbon exchange. We need them, especially in a place like NYC.
