Secrets to Surviving a Hurricane: NYC's High Line Park - Gardenista
What does it take to weather proof a garden against the worst storm of the century? This is the first in a series of stories this week about how to prepare your garden to weather bad weather. Photograph by Jeanne Rostaing. An early morning photo taken on the High Line three days before the hurricane hit shows the park in full autumn mode but, actually, it didn’t look all that different afterward. While other city parks along the Hudson River sustained significant damage... ...the High Line’s 395 acres of perennials, shrubs, and young trees were practically untouched because of careful plant selection, a strategic planting scheme, and some unobtrusive anchoring. Photograph by Jeanne Rostaing. The High Line also gracefully weathered a second storm last week when a nor’easter blew through town with 50-mile-per-hour winds and dumped three inches of snow on most of the city. Photograph by Jeanne Rostaing. To weatherproof your garden, plant shorter grasses and perennials in exposed areas; if possible, site trees and taller shrubs in protected areas. To prepare for bad weather, you can anchor small or fragile trees; on the High Line young sumacs were tethered to nearby railings before the storms hit. Exposure to windy conditions will toughen plants. On the High Line, the fact that the plants live 30 feet in the air means they’ve already developed a lot of tolerance for harsh weather. The High Line is itself a symbol of resilience. By 1999, the tracks were threatened with demolition. For the High Line’s many visitors, the storm has caused a few temporary changes.