secret gardens

Secret Gardens: Inside Manhattan's Hidden Green Spaces

C'est Christine

05 September 2019

These are some of Manhattan's most charming natural oases.

It's September, which means that we're in that precious sweet spot where NYC's temperature hovers between unbearably hot and unbearably cold. During this time, you may find yourself wanting to spend your weekends in the refuge of one of the city's many parks and gardens.

One of the best things about NYC is that there are so many hidden green spaces. Seemingly on every corner, there's a hidden patch of green or a little bench at the center of a ring of tulips, disrupting the sirens and the smoke. Even in Manhattan, where every square inch of real estate has value, there are a surprising number of green spaces to be found, creatively squished between buildings or even planted inside skyscrapers.

Here's a list of some of the island's best secret gardens, where you can find solitude and peace amidst the changing leaves.

Hidden between the empty storefronts and luxury shops of the Bowery, this garden faces impending destruction despite ongoing protests, so you may want to visit while it lasts. It's full of statues—stone angels, fountains, and ornate lions make it feel like something out of a fairytale.
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Located right in the center of the bustling West Village, this garden makes it easy to forget that you're in the city at all. With its teeming foliage, winding pathways, and hordes of butterflies and moths, this place is a romantic spot that's maintained entirely by dedicated volunteers.
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This sprawling collection of green spaces stands in the shadows of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, a mystically gorgeous building in and of itself, but it has plenty of natural wonders to offer the wayward traveler. Stretching from Amsterdam Avenue to Broadway, it boasts lush walls of trees and flowers as well as stunning artwork. Stop by the community-maintained garden on Amsterdam, or take a breather on the circular benches surrounding the Peace Fountain on Broadway, pictured above.
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Within one of the busiest parts of the concrete jungle, there's a very real jungle—found inside an office building. The Ford Foundation's offices at 320 East 43rd Street contain a verdant rainforest that grows in the center of the skyscraper, just a stone's throw from the UN. Spiraling up twelve floors, the rainforest is kept alive by the building's greenhouse-like design. It's open to the public, too, so the next time you're having a panic attack in midtown, you know where to go.
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This sweet space is home to 100 species of birds and 24 types of moths and butterflies, many of which are rare, but all of which thrive in the unique microclimate of St. Luke's Church in the West Village. The garden was created in 1842, and today it's a labyrinthine oasis that's sometimes called the Healing Garden due to its peaceful aura and lush landscape.
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Central Park isn't a secret in and of itself, but it contains many secret places and lesser-known marvels. At East 104th Street, you'll find the Conservatory Garden, a secluded and formal space hidden behind a heavy iron gate. Composed of three distinct parts, carefully maintained to comply with a high standard of Upper East Side pretentiousness, the garden is composed of concentric circles of roses, lilacs, and begonias, as well as other luxurious foliage. Whether it is French or Italian in design is a frequent topic of debate among garden experts. Regardless, it's quiet.
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Also found on the Upper East Side, this garden is something out of a delusional NYC rom com—you can just imagine the Burberry trenchcoat-wearing, unemployed 20-somethings meeting here in the rain to reunite—but it's very real, very well-manicured, and open to the public, if you know where to look.
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Crammed in an alleyway on the Upper West Side, this is one of Manhattan's tiniest parks, if you could call it a park at all. The ivy-cloaked space is but a slip of greenery between two looming brick buildings, and it's a popular spot for locals to catch their breaths—and for visitors who are looking to catch a glimpse of one of the the city's many quirky green spaces.
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This striking, ingeniously crafted park is located in the Battery, and it stands in secluded contrast to the flying numbers and coke addicts of Wall Street. Designed by the architect Michael Van Valkenberg, it features a magnificent "Ice Wall" composed of shapely slabs of rock, which are specifically designed so that icebergs will form there in the winter (don't ask us how). It's the kind of place that architecture critics will call "not anti-form but is also not yet or not quite form." Plus, it's designed to be sustainable, with its own irrigation system and non-toxic soil system, so if you're looking for a hint of purity in the land of the analysts, this is where you may find it.
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