"Stop and smell the roses" is not a cute expression --
It's a way of life.
The High Line in New York City has changed Manhattan's west side neighborhoods completely. Why do thousands of people a year flock to green spaces, like the High Line? Because, being surrounded by trees, grasses and flowers is healing. Plants help you slow down and relax.
We hear a lot these days about how important it is to be green. Often the word 'green' is used to describe how environmentally sound a building or a business is constructed. But most of us don't really know what that means. We don't think it effects us on a day-to-day basis. When urban dwellers think of 'green', we care about the conscientious constructiion of the building. But the green that we really need more of are plants in our environment. Real green! The kind you can touch and feel and smell and eat; the kind that makes you feel good! Green spaces , green planters , green terraces , green roofs - this is the stuff we respond to on an unconcious level. It connects us to the earth on a profoundly deep level.
At the Narrows Botanical Gardens, a community green space that I oversee, we've designed a native plant garden that recreates a piece of horticultural history. We have planted trees , shrubs , and plants to give the area the feel of what the banks of the Hudson River would have looked like 400 years ago, before settlements, buildings and concrete erased much of the native flora and fauna. Streams , waterfalls, ponds and bogs provide a glimpse of the wet spaces that once dotted the Brooklyn landscape and provide refuge for fish, turtles and other wildlife. Each week, we lead a half hour tour of the native plant garden, and it is always amazing to see the city sour puss leave visitors' faces once inside this small forest, replaced with a relaxed smile. As we approach the waterfalls and pond, I ask them about their experience and whether they feel any different from when they were outside on the city street before the tour. All respond the same: they feel relaxed, happy, calm and peaceful. I then ask them why. Without fail, no one can give me an answer. My response is that it is the "unconscious gift of peacefulness that nature gives to you."
I hope that you'll join us down at the Narrows Botanical Garden to experience this same feeling yourself.
We hear a lot these days about how important it is to be green. Often the word 'green' is used to describe how environmentally sound a building or a business is constructed. But most of us don't really know what that means. We don't think it effects us on a day-to-day basis. When urban dwellers think of 'green', we care about the conscientious constructiion of the building. But the green that we really need more of are plants in our environment. Real green! The kind you can touch and feel and smell and eat; the kind that makes you feel good! Green spaces , green planters , green terraces , green roofs - this is the stuff we respond to on an unconcious level. It connects us to the earth on a profoundly deep level.
At the Narrows Botanical Gardens, a community green space that I oversee, we've designed a native plant garden that recreates a piece of horticultural history. We have planted trees , shrubs , and plants to give the area the feel of what the banks of the Hudson River would have looked like 400 years ago, before settlements, buildings and concrete erased much of the native flora and fauna. Streams , waterfalls, ponds and bogs provide a glimpse of the wet spaces that once dotted the Brooklyn landscape and provide refuge for fish, turtles and other wildlife. Each week, we lead a half hour tour of the native plant garden, and it is always amazing to see the city sour puss leave visitors' faces once inside this small forest, replaced with a relaxed smile. As we approach the waterfalls and pond, I ask them about their experience and whether they feel any different from when they were outside on the city street before the tour. All respond the same: they feel relaxed, happy, calm and peaceful. I then ask them why. Without fail, no one can give me an answer. My response is that it is the "unconscious gift of peacefulness that nature gives to you."
I hope that you'll join us down at the Narrows Botanical Garden to experience this same feeling yourself.
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