The Little Island, NYC — The Ottawa Garden Club

Our son is very fortunate…he and his family live in NYC, about five minutes away from The Highline Park near the Hudson River. And now there is a second park, a much smaller park, but equally interesting, about five minutes south of the southern tip of the High Line. They live in Manhattan, but they could just as well be in a small neighbourhood of a much smaller town with the access they have to these beautiful, vibrant parks.

The latest 'garden' in their neighbourhood (as of May, 2001) is The Little Island, also known as Pier 54 or Pier 55 (the new space the garden is built on is an area which overlaps the two original Piers). You can see the old piles sticking out of the water, and the rusty posts used in the garden to provide safety near the watery edges of the property area echo those stalwart piles which have survived to this day.

**Original piles for Pier 54, still surviving, and rusty fence which mimics the original piles**

This area has an interesting history. Indigenous people fished this stretch of the Hudson River and traded with early settlers. In the early 1900's, Cunard's White Star Line docked and sailed from Pier 54, and in 1912, it brought survivors of the Titanic to NYC. Several years later, the ship The Lusitania was sunken by a German U Boat after leaving from Pier 54 on her way to Ireland. Abandoned in the 70's and 80's, the LGBTQ community in NYC met and celebrated Pride Day on Pier 54 for many years. But in 1998 the Hudson River Park system was engaged in renovations along a large swath of land along the western waterfront, including Pier 54. The work done in this whole area has produced a beautiful stretch of parkland to walk, cycle and drive along, and now there is a new meeting place at Pier 54 where art meets nature!

**The garden from afar. I was still not convinced…**

So, back to the garden….

I must confess, I was not terribly impressed when I saw photographs of this new garden…what were those huge white 'things' like stems with a cup on top of them? And a lot of it seemed to be 'painted' rust colour (Upon closer inspection, it was not paint, after all, but was actual rust, a material which is easy to maintain, and a colour which sets off plant material very nicely). Despite huge efforts, I was just incapable of finding any enjoyment when looking at those structures. But when we were down to see our family a couple of weeks ago, we visited the Little Island, just as they do almost every day.

**The original metal frame of the entrance gate for the Cunard White Star Lines at Pier 54**

My opinion changed almost instantly as we worked our way under the rusted, huge, original gate for the Cunard White Star Lines and up into the garden, (And since listening to the audio tour by landscape architect, Signe Nielsen at littleisland.org upon our return,) I am now totally smitten! The pathways were filled with many visitors that beautiful, cold day we went to see what all of the fuss was about. Everyone was obviously enjoying the garden - there were lots of smiles!!! At just 2.5 acres, it does not take up much space, but it juts out into, and also above, the Hudson River. It has many levels planted in a series of 132 'Tulip Pots' overlooking the original old, broken wooden piles of the piers. So, they were Tulips, were they? Hmmm, ok, I thought. I might be able to find something interesting here after all!

The concept for the island was inspired by a leaf floating on water, and as I looked on the internet at the overhead photographs of the island, it is a surprise to realize that it is a square property, but one which feels anything but. You can imagine that this little jewel is, indeed, a leaf floating on the water, the edges of the leaf curled up to the sky. This was starting to get brilliant instead of not very interesting! And then I read about the British designer for the project, Thomas Heatherwick (look at the series of photos of his firm's projects under Wikipedia, and you will see what I mean!). Well, at this point it was a super fascinating project, and I wanted to know more and more about it.

**Quite a few people for a cold, early morning. And look at those pots… tulip pots! One hundred and thirty two of them…**

**Quite interesting to see the Tulip Pots from below!**

All of the different levels used here make for an interesting space (as it does in all of our gardens), and despite it’s size, it has an uplifting, open feel to it. Signe Nielsen notes that they increased the planting areas by a quarter of an acre just by planting at different levels. She also speaks about the plant material used, and why. Again, you should listen to their audio tour for more detail, but until you have a chance, she mentions that they planted 35 trees, 65 shrubs, 270 varieties of grasses, vines and perennials. Oh, and they had planted 60,000 bulbs! Her reasons for choosing various plant material and interesting hardscape materials has been well thought out and clearly laid out in the audio tour, and she explains her 'bloom sweep' of colours and plant types, which is fascinating to listen to.

**Interesting plant material… lots of grasses, Hamamellis flowers blooming at the end of February**

I think it was pure genius to place the amphitheatre looking out over the river, as was the placement of the many noise-or music-making objects scattered across the property. These not only engage visitors, but they bring to life the entire space!

**Right downtown, the different levels in the garden are shown dramatically bin this shot. What a background…**

**A map of this little jewel of a garden. And it is square!**

Barry Diller and his wife Diane-Von-Furstenberg (the clothes designer) put up a good portion of the money for The Highline (hard to find the total cost as it was built in several sections, but rest assured, it was a lot!) and now they have put $260 million into the initial building of the Little Island, plus another $120 million for maintenance and development of events on the island for years to come. This tiny garden will host musical events, plays, and whatever else people can think of! They say that it is a place for nature and art. Well, the line between the two is very blurred, but in a wonderful way! I am totally gobsmacked, as the British would say. My hat goes off to all of those who were involved in this project, and I look forward to experiencing that bloom sweep as the spring, summer and fall provide us with new flowers and foliage to look at each and every visit. It surely will be something to look forward to as the seasons change, and I expect it will continue to lift our hearts and inspire us at each and every visit.