Photography by Marie Viljoen.
Crowning a rocky ridge above the Hudson River, Inwood Hill Park is home to the last natural forest in Manhattan.
Across the tidal flow of Spuyten Duyvil—the widened creek that connects the mighty Hudson with the Harlem River—is the wooded peninsula that remarkably few local residents visit.
In early spring you will see serviceberries (Amelanchier species) hugging the rocks high above the water. The indigenous tree is one of the first to bloom, and its red edible fruits are ripe in June—another common name is Juneberry.
To walk here is to wind around the narrow northern arrowpoint of Manhattan, high above the water, under the Henry Hudson Bridge, with rare views of the water that cuts off Manhattan from the mainland, giving small clues to what the place may have been like before we flattened and gridded it.
Another early bloomer is spicebush (Lindera benzoin), also known as Appalachian allspice.
In the leaf litter under the spicebush trees Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) are exquisite spring ephemerals which will have retreated into dormancy by mid-summer.
May is one of the most beautiful months in this quiet woodland. All you hear is the rattle of a woodpecker and birdsong.
In the dappled dry shade of tall trees, invasive greater celandine (Chelidonium majus) congregates.
In New York, May belongs to the columbines.
Aquilegia canadensis brightens the high shade of the forest floor.
Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum biflorum) flowers keep local pollinators happy.
Nearby, the buds of lookalike false Solomon’ seal (Maianthemum racemosum) have formed, demonstrating the ideal of planting for a succession of blooms in our gardens: plant perennials whose flowers open in a season-long relay.
And there are shrubs, too, for gardeners who want the double reward of flowers as well as edible fruit.