Richard Hayden with the story of the New York High Line
Walk the New York High Line
“If you grow plants you’re inherently an optimist.” Richard Hayden
Recording on the New York High Line
I love this quote from Richard Hayden, Senior Director of Horticulture, on the High Line. And I have been smiling as I edited this episode for the podcast, remembering Richard’s passion for this iconic garden and the way he loves seeing not just the way the plants grow but the way that in his role he get to ensure that the gardeners too, develop and do their best work, in this space.
What to listen for in this episode
The High Line’s unusual “redemption story” — from 1930s freight line to hidden garden to a destination garden. Last year the High Line had 6.2 million visitors. But who is using it? What’s the mix of native and non native plants? Here are some more things you’ll learn.
The magic of what was growing on the tracks after the trains stopped in 1980 and what the last train carried!
How Friends of the High Line persuaded a city to save it.
Piet Oudolf’s planting design and the power of four-season gardens.
Managing a 4-acre, 30-foot-high garden with only 18 inches of soil. (In some places just 12 inches)
Biodiversity success: bees, birds, bats, butterflies and wetland plants above Manhattan.
The practical challenges of climate change, heat, soil depletion and visitor pressure.
Lessons for other cities
What I loved about the opportunity to walk and talk with Richard was the chance to get the behind the scenes from a gardener’s perspective. The editing of plants that goes on, that most people probably just wander or jog by. The fascinating way that Pete Oudolf will return to the High Line and meet with the gardeners on each section, discuss the editing and bring new plants for them to try. We stopped to admire one of them: Stokesia common name Stokes’ aster. Also just practically how do you do the gardening, when you have millions of visitors. And Richard, though please don’t tell anyone, shares some secrets of weeding on the High Line.
Other Listening
If this episode has inspired you then you might also like to listen to 2 episodes from the previous series about the Castlefield Viaduct in Manchester and the proposed Camden High Line in London. I promised last year that we would return to both these projects and we will, next month, in the last episode of this current series.
Getting any project like this off the ground is a small miracle but New York did it and its been open now for 16 years. I see it as ‘the dream’ but everyone needs a dream - whatever the size of your project.