Friends Committee G Fall 2009 azette www.FortTryonParkTrust.org Sustaining the Heather Garden for the Next 75 Years Jennifer Hoppa, Administrator for Northern Manhattan Parks he crown jewel of Fort Tryon Park, es of the New York City Department Garden. The Framework Plan will the Heather Garden, is one of the of Parks & Recreation and to preserve tackle recurring soil problems, identi- T largest heath and heather gardens the splendor of the Heather Garden. fy ways to open up and frame views, on the East Coast and the largest pub- October 2010 will mark Fort Tryon expand existing perennial groupings, lic garden with unrestricted access in Park’s 75th anniversary, and the Trust and incorporate small shrubs at key New York City. As the three-acre gar- wants to ensure that the Heather locations to create more structure and den is fast approaching its 75th birthday, Garden will continue to thrive and cohesiveness in the garden year round. many people are working to ensure serve as a respite to New Yorkers, ir- The approach will help minimize on- that it remains a vital New York City, respective of the City’s fi scal climate. going maintenance of the garden, and State, and Federal scenic landmark. The Trust has engaged Lynden Miller, yet preserve its romantic feel and oth- Flanked by stone walls and the the Public Garden Designer, to devel- erworldly aura. remnants of Cornelius G.K. Billings’ op a Framework Plan for enhancing In addition to serving as a guide for early 1900’s estate and featuring and sustaining the Heather Garden the garden’s ongoing management, spectacular views of the Hudson for the long term. Miller is known for the Framework Plan will facilitate River, the Heather Garden hosts over her public garden work in Bryant Park, fundraising to ensure the garden’s 50 varieties of heaths and heathers, whose winter and summer blooms and colorful foliage create a de- lightful array of color year round. Two hundred varieties of peren- nials and shrubs add eye-catching shapes, textures and contrasts to the Heather Garden. Today’s visitors may be surprised to learn that after the fi scal crisis of the 1970’s, much of the garden’s original splendor was entirely lost to overgrowth, invasive tree growth, and declining maintenance. Even the views of the Hudson River were obstructed. The vistas visitors en- joy today are largely the result of the 1983 Landscape Restoration Plan. Jane Schachat, a former Park Administrator, painstakingly over- Photo by Marcia Garibaldi saw the Heather Garden’s restoration, For 75 years, New Yorkers and visitors from around the globe have sought respite in which was funded by the Greenacre Fort Tryon Park’s Heather Garden. Foundation and executed by landscape architect and Trust Board Member Central Park’s Conservatory Garden, future care. The Trust is currently Nicholas Quennell of Quennell Madison Square Park, the Perennial fundraising for the Heather Garden Rothschild & Partners. Garden at the New York Botanical Framework Plan. To learn more or to Over the last several decades, the Garden and Columbia University. contribute, contact Jennifer Hoppa or Greenacre Foundation and more re- Miller has been working with the go the Trust website. cently, the Fort Tryon Park Trust, have Trust and the Parks Department gar- This fall, the Fort Tryon gardeners continued to fund dedicated staffi ng deners to help identify ways to build will be busy transplanting and plant- and horticultural supplies, equipment upon and preserve the unique horticul- ing, so come up to the garden to see and plants to complement the resourc- tural and historic assets of the Heather their progress. ■ Photo by Aliza Holtz Nancy’s Letter: Partnership The record-breaking rainfall this summer by the Washington Heights was matched by the record-breaking and Inwood Development number of activities hosted in our park. New Corporation, the NYC partnerships have yielded new activities for Department of Parks & the mind, body and spirit — from yoga and Recreation, the Trust, and our fi tness to music, theatre, art and volunteer local elected offi cials. opportunities. And much more is planned for We hope to partner with Pancakes in the fall. area residents and organizations like the the Park fi lled Special thanks to some of these new Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance to bring 220 bellies, and partners for their great ideas and generous more free performances, art installations and thanks to local donation of time and energy: dance workshops to the park. If you have ideas jazz vocalist for expanding the arts or fi tness in Fort Tryon, Louise Rodgers Robert Martinez, a licensed acupuncturist, and bassist Rick for Tai Chi classes; contact Jennifer Hoppa, Northern Manhattan Strong, the event Parks Administrator. also fi lled our Jeanne Atkin, owner of Pinehurst Healing Considerable progress has also been made hearts with song. Arts, and Marcus DeGrazia, a licensed in the Alpine Garden since May, including Hundreds more acupuncturist, for Qi Gong classes; extensive tree pruning, dead tree removal, visitors also Yoga teachers Nancy Elkes, Edya Kalev, bench upgrades, new entrance gardens and the shopped at the installation of an historic drinking fountain. Neighborhood Alyane Faraone, Shephali Patel and Amy Yard Sale to Pope; and Nicholas Quennell’s spectacular design for the grotto is approved, and we plan to have support the park. Julia Attaway, a Friends Committee member, a plaque dedication and community for leading the children’s nature exploration celebration with the Peter Jay Sharp program and cultivating the imaginations of Foundation and the Cleveland Dodge the future stewards of our park. Foundation on October 7th. We hope The Friends Committee’s free Fitness you’ll join us. Programs, recently featured in Time Out New The Trust continues to mobilize York magazine (see http://tiny.cc/ftptimeout), large groups of volunteers to come continue to be a great vehicle for engaging and and beautify the park each month serving our community. The weekly fi tness and regularly hosts volunteers from walks, led by yours truly, will continue through institutions like Yeshiva University the winter. and corporations like Deloitte & Although rain cancelled “Art in the Park” on Touche. So far this year, volunteers June 13th, we hosted Gorilla Repertoire’s Joan have contributed more than 4,300 of Arc 16 times in July and eight performances hours to park beautifi cation. New volunteers are always welcome. of Julius Cesar in August – all free and open Photo by Regina Gradess to the public. The fi rst annual jazz concert Thank you again to our current and future partners. Manhattan Parks honoring Stan Michels and featuring Marjorie Commissioner Bill Eliot and her jazz ensemble attracted over 200 See you in the park, Castro, Honoree guests to the Promenade. Richard Baronio’s Luis Miranda “Spotted Leaf ” sculpture is a temporary and his wife Luz public art piece that we’ll continue to enjoy Townes-Miranda, in the Heather Garden through October Nancy Bruning Nancy Bruning and Jennifer 2nd. On October 4th, we look forward to Chair, Friends Committee Hoppa share the the 25th Annual Medieval Festival sponsored Fort Tryon Park Trust terrace stage at the June 4th Fort Tryon Park Trust’s mission is to promote the restoration, “Toast to Fort preservation, and enhancement of this historic and scenic landmark for Tryon Park.” Mission the benefi t and use of the surrounding community and all New Yorkers. • Fort Tryon Park Trust Website: www.FortTryonParkTrust.org • Friends Committee Email: [email protected] • To volunteer in the Heather Garden: [email protected] • Northern Manhattan Parks Administrator, Jennifer Hoppa: 212-795-1388, Ext. 300 or [email protected] • Council Member Robert Jackson: 212-928-1322 • To report dangerous conditions or graffi ti and other vandalism: 311 • Forestry (tree pruning, dead tree and limb removal): 311 • For event permits, parties of 20 or more, and professional photography, please visit www.nycgovparks.org, and click on special events. Contacts 2 Friends Committee Gazette What the Dinosaurs Ate in Fort Tryon Park Julia Attaway ould an Apatosaurus have (“naked seeds”). Seeds have an advan- with no known relatives. eaten crabapples? Would a tage over spores because they contain a During the Cretaceous Period, 144 CPachycephalosaurus prefer oaks? fully developed embryo with a built-in to 65 million years ago, the Triceratops, Which plants in Fort Tryon Park food supply. Pollen can be transport- Iguanodon, Ankylosaurus and could the huge herbivores of old have ed by the wind or by animals, so that Pachycephalosaurus munched on eaten for lunch? plants don’t have to live right near water early fl owering plants, including This spring, two groups of pint- in order to reproduce. perhaps relatives of today’s oaks. The sized paleobotanists stepped back in And while Apatosaurus would not magnolias and laurels that dot Fort time to fi nd out thanks to a new Tryon Park are prime examples of children’s program sponsored fl ora of the time. Magnolias devel- by the Greenacre Foundation. oped the ability to be pollinated by The fi rst stop was the Triassic beetles. Most fl owering plants had to Period, 248 to 206 million years wait for the appearance of bees be- ago. Here the children examined fore they could survive and thrive. ferns, some of the earliest vascu- Photo by Alane Mason Although we don’t know for sure lar plants. Ferns began in a pre- which dinosaurs roamed the area, seed era; even today, they repro- the young paleobotanists conclud- duce by releasing spores, which ed their exploration by creating are usually transported via water. menus for a “Dinosaur Diner,” replete Plant fossils — far more nu- with pictures of the plants they’d merous than preserved dinosaur learned about.