Public Garden Tour

We had a blast hosting an immersive walking tour through the urban gardens of Hell's Kitchen. We visited a network of plantings that attract pollinators in the heart of Manhattan. The tour was a community partnership between Design Wild, the Hudson Yards Hell's Kitchen Alliance (HYHK), a non-profit business improvement district, and Clinton-Housing Development Company (CHDC), a non-profit housing organization. All groups continue to be dedicated to enhancing the quality of life throughout the neighborhood with special attention paid to access to green spaces for all. Sponsorship and support came generously from the W42ST Magazine our neighborhood publication.

Garden Design: Shanti Nagel - Principle, Design Wild Horticulture: Meral Marino - Director of Horticulture, CHDC

Tour locations included:

Bob’s Park & 35th Street Planting, CHDC: The first playground developed in the area since the ’40s - Bob’s Park was built along with the adjacent supportive housing in 1995 by CHDC. The plantings along 35th Street are a great example of greening potential on narrow New York City streets.

Canoe Plaza 37th Street, HYHK: Canoe Plaza has been a collaboration between the Department of Transportation, The Port Authority of NY/NJ, the Quadrum Global group, and community partners. Read more about this project here.

37th Street Planting, HYHK: 37th Street Planting is creating a new way of planting public space with ecology and pollinators in mind as well as human and neighborhood well-being. New plantings have echoes of the natural, wild style of the High Line park just a few blocks away.

Urban Street Seat, HYHK: The Street Seat program is an initiative of the Department of Transportation. Through this program, partners apply to transform underused streets into vibrant, social public spaces. HYHK & CHDC, in partnership, developed the first extra-long and all-year-round street seat. Learn more about the DOT program here.

39th Street Plantings, HYHK: This site is a continuation of HYHK’s 37th Street plantings. Here we will find flowers and pollinators busy at work in the midst of 10th Avenue bus traffic.

42nd Street Courtyard, Affordable Housing, CHDC: Our final stop will be a shared courtyard in a CHDC built and managed affordable housing building. This garden includes unique historic stone items salvaged from the original building reimagined as several features including a beautiful water feature. This stop will include refreshments.

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At the end of the tour, we had a great garden party with music and refreshments for all!

We are passionate about public space and creating beauty in unexpected places. We carefully select hardy plants that thrive in tough environments while expanding biodiversity and air quality. These predominantly perennial plantings dramatically cut down the cost of typical annual plantings while creating stunningly beautiful gardens. We are creating:

  • Habitat

  • Dignity in Public Space

  • Pollinator Gardens

  • Food for Song Birds

  • Moments of WILD beauty

  • Public Greening = Better Mental Health