When you think of nature and greenery in Manhattan you automatically think of Central Park. To be honest, I had never heard of the Highline but it sure did make a lasting impression on me. An elevated area of flowers and plants is an incredible sight that quickly grasps your attention. Many people come to sit on the benches and enjoy the surroundings of the beautiful city as well as this sort of out of place patch of elevated nature. As I walked around the Highline, I was struck by its layout. There were distinct walking areas surrounded by vast amounts of nature. What I noticed was a manhole that was hidden by some plants. This shows that humans, even though they do allow the greenery to grow naturally, they do provide a proper drainage system to make sure the plants aren’t overflowed during rains.
The Highline, located on Tenth Avenue between Gansevoort Street and West 34th, was an elevated commercial rail line built in the 1930s used to carry rail traffic above the New York streets. Currently, it’s a vast green escape for New Yorkers from the typical city blocks that include nothing but skyscrapers and taxis. The Highline is filled with lichens, mosses, plants, flowers, pollinators as we as birds that pay the area a visit. Walking through the Highline was a great experience. The small strip of nature brought a sense of peacefulness, which is really difficult to find in the big apple. The diverse plants brought numerous bees and other insects to pollinate the greenery.
The Highline definitely fits into Marris’s concept of the rambunctious garden. Marris believes that humans shouldn’t impede nature but rather attempt to restore it to a specific baseline. The Highline was abandoned during the 1980s leading to lichens, forbs, grasses and woody vegetarian to grow uncontrollably and most importantly, naturally over the area. Further, humans have transported many foreign species to the area, making it a developed and diverse scenery. According to Stalter’s study, over 161 species as well as 122 genera in 48 families can be found at the Highline. These facts justify why the Highline can e described as a rambunctious garden. The Highline was allowed to develop on its own without human intervention as well as being populated by foreign species. Marris would appreciate the Highline for its vast diversity of species as well as its beauty in a city that doesn’t have much green outside of Central Park.
