Winter Walk on the High Line NYC

What would there be to see at the High Line in January.  A lot!

Junipers with their berries.

An adjacent wall that had been used as a canvas.

An window on a building on the other side with a bit of humorous art.

 Signs of the tracks with grasses whirling around.

Another wall as a canvas.

 Seed pods and sculptures.

 Very large trees that were planted below,

 and ferns and mosses seemingly indifferent to the winter's cold.

 Small additions to beautify a building's window, with what looked like plastic grass, (pigeon repellent?)   A huge mural in dazzling color of a WWII photo,

Driftwood sticks humanizing a chain link fence.

 Giant areas of the Meat Packing District undergoing gentrification.

 A well kept lawn?

 Wonderful Mondrian like structures of Hudson River colors,

 more whimsical art both large,

 and very small

 a truly strange installation called "Broken Bridge," with a tarp keeping off the falling shards from parked cars beneath?

 Lovely plantings that can survive Winter.

A Mahonia.

 Lovely blooms,

 winter berries,

 Epimedium,

 a struggling rose bud,

 a purple ground cover.

 It was hard to decide where to look.  At the buildings,

 at the Bride and Groom.

at the seed pods leftover from Summer and Fall.

There were flowering plants hoping for continued mild weather.

At one end of the High Line,  which stretches from 14th to 34th streets on the west side of NYC between 10th and 11th Avenues, there were announcements of the new Whitney Museum  building, which is  moving to  one end of the line.  It will open in 2015.  Which only goes to show how an impossible dream, the re-purposing of a defunct rail track, can have a great effect on an old neighborhood in NYC.    A great destination and a fun day.

The High Line

A fabulous public park found in the Chelsea and Meatpacking districts of New York City, The High Line, is open for strolling.The High Line is a wonderful garden path that has grown up on a decommissioned elevated rail road track, which was saved by community groups and the city.Visitors climb up newly renovated and created access stairs, to the walking path, at 20th street and Tenth Avenue, or 16th street for persons who require an elevator.The design of this city phenomenon was the creation of the James Corner Field Operations, with consultation from planting designer Piet Oudolf. Plantings are positioned between and around rail road ties and concrete staves.Grasses are coupled with perennials such as Cone Flowers, Sedum, Astilbe, Joe Pie Weed, Hydrangeas, Rudbekia, perennial Geranium, Mallow, Butterfly Weed, many species of ornamental shrubs, and flowering plants. The design was inspired by original volunteer green growth, that seeded in over the 25 years during which trains stopped running.Many of the plants are varieties that are slightly different from the usual stock shown in most gardens. The are multi petaled, taller, a different hue, or completely new to most gardeners.The tracks, gravel, plantings, and the views from above, are just the beginning of the High Line experience.