I See You See

Not being a fan of chaotic big cities, but being in New York to visit family and friends, we set ourselves the task of finding the quieter places, places to escape. And one of those places is a small six acre section of that great, green space, Central Park.

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Many people know the beauty and the facilities of Central Park but few know that there is a ‘secret garden’ very close to this north-eastern section of the park.

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Google Map of Conservatory Garden, NY

To get there, we travelled north along Park Avenue by bus from 59th Street to 106th Street. ( We could have taken the subway # 6 to 103rd Street Station.) It was then but a short walk west to to the gates of the Conservatory Garden in 5th Avenue opposite 105th Street. This area is the border between Manhattan and Harlam, and Harlam, as many of our age will remember, did not always have the best of reputations for safety. So much has changed in New York and safety is one thing I noticed had really changed. The city still has an edge to it but we felt as safe as we do at home in Australia.

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David and me in front of the Vanderbilt Gate.

The main entry to the Conservatory Garden is through a magnificent wrought iron gate, the Vanderbilt Gate. This gate was designed by an American architect, George B Post and made in France. It was used for many years at the entrance to the estate of Cornelius Vanderbilt ll whose home stood at the corner of 5th Avenue and 58th Street.

We were about to step into a garden that not so long ago was an area avoided by most, a derelict area of filth, of drugs and of crime, a place where no one in their right mind would enter. But that was then. This is now. And the transormation is the result of the vision of one woman and the hard work of many volunteers who followed her vision.

The Conservatory Garden is named for the original conservatory glasshouses that were used by the Central Park to grow on plants for the park. They fell into disrepair when the cost of maintaining the glasshouses became too great and they were finally demolished in 1937. In their place a new garden was developed by Betty Sprout and Gilmore Clarke and it was maintained until the 1960s when it too became unmanageable. It stayed unloved and unkempt for twenty years.

This area became a very dangerous place to be, neglected, fullof garbage, the haunt of drug addicta and dealers; a place with a very high cime rate.  That was until a landscape gardener named Lyndon B Miller was approached by a friend to see if she thought the garden could be restored. What a sight met her eyes… but thankfully she saw the potential. But restoring a garden costs money and takes time. Photographs of French and English gardens were shown to possible sponsors and volunteers from the New York Garden Club came to the fore to help. This garden is a tesatment to the value of a garden in the social life of a city. Crime has disappeared and it’s now a place of peace and relaxation.

In 1983, a Women’s Committee was founded to make sure that Central Park and the Conservatory Garden remain in good condition for the people of New York and their visitors. They raise funds through Charity events, through the sale of plaques on the park benches ( there are some 9,000 benches in Central Park!), through the adoption of trees, and through donations to help buy the many tulips and other flowers that adorn the Conservatory Garden.

New Yorkers, and visitors like us, have much for which to thank these women. Certainly many of the 1,000 plus members probably live in close proximity to the park… for aprtment dwellers, it’s somewhat akin to having your own garden. But these women raise many millions of dollars to help keep the park and its facitlities in good order. I’m sure those who founded this park and the Conservatory Garden would be thrilled to see their vision still alive and vibrant today.

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This garden is a designated QUIET Zone… something very rare in new York! It’s for those who want to quietly enjoy a stroll in beautiful surroundings where there are no bicycles or horse drawn carriages or runners to dodge, let alone people out for a brisk walk with their dogs. In this secret garden you will share peace and space with other like minded folk who seek to sit quietly, to read or just to stroll in the beautiful Conservancy Garden. Let’s go inside and enjoy its beauty.

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Aerial View of the Conservancy Gardens in Spring

The photo above comes from the Park’s website and shows the layout of the Conservatory Garden.There are three sections, each one reminiscent of one of the great classical gardens of England, Italy and France. On the left is the gentle English Garden; in the centre a classic Italianate Garden bordered by the pink and white of crab apples in the spring time. Beyond the lawn and the fountain is a raised area backed by an extraordinary, semi circular wisteria arch, a pleasant pace to sit and read in the heat of summer, I would imagine. On the right is the more formal French styled garden which has plantings of tulips in the spring and Chrysanthemums in the autumn.

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The Italian Garden

The first garden to greet you after you enter the gate is the expansive lawn of the Italianate Garden. This is a favourite place for weddings and for wedding photo shoots. We were there on a week day, so it was all very peaceful. Beyond the lawn is the cool arbour od wisteria. It must be a magic sight, and fragrance, in late spring. We were there in October and the crab apple trees were just beginning to change colour.

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From the fountain, looking back across the lawn to part of Mount Sinai Hospital.

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Close up of the fountain.

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Autumnal leaves on a small pool.

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Portrait of autumn leaf on water.

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Beside the Italian garden is a quiet avenue of trees, a favourite place for those who just want to sit and read in a shady place, seemingly far from the chaos of the city. And yet, 5th Avenue is really only meters away!

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The French Garden

To the right of the Italian Garden is a garden with a French influence. It’s a small sunken garden filled with flowers. The unexpected sight of so many flowers and such a riot of colour in Central Park, or any where in Manhattan, comes as a bit of a surprise… a very pleasant surprise. This photo is a just a taste of what’s to come in my next post… so stay tuned!

Jennie and David

Photography copyright ©  Jennie Thomas and David Young

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