The High Line Blog

  • Plant of the Week: Sea Lavender

    By Manuel Alarcon July 31, 2018
    Limonium platyphyllum, or sea lavender, is a clump-forming perennial native to southeastern and central Europe. It blooms July through August and reveals hundreds of tiny, lavender-blue flowers at the ends of thin, wire-like stems. Despite its common name, it is not related to lavenders at all... read more

  • Plant of the Week: Virginia marsh-St. John's-wort

    By Leah Liceaga July 18, 2018
    Triadenum virginicum, also referred to as Hypericum virginicum and by its common name Virginia marsh-St. John's-wort is a perennial plant. This marsh herb belongs to the Clusiaceae family. Marsh St. John's wort is most prevalent in New England. However, its native range extends down the easter... read more

  • Plant of the Week: Star of Persia

    By D'en Vargas July 11, 2018
    Did the presence of a cluster of purple stars bewitch you along your High Line commute? Allium cristophii, also known as the star of Persia, shows bright vibrant shades of purple from late spring to early summer. Although Allium cristophii attracts most of its attention while in bloom, it i... read more

  • Plant of the Week: Yellow pitcher plant

    By Manuel Alarcon June 26, 2018
    Sarracenia flava, also known as yellow pitcher plant, is a perennial native to southeastern United States. In the wild, its range stretches from Virginia to Florida, sweeping west to Mobile Bay, Alabama. It can grow from one and a half feet to three feet tall and can spread from one and a half... read more

  • Plant of the Week: Sweetclover

    By EM Rodriguez June 4, 2018
    Sweetclover, Melilotus officinalis, can be found growing on the Interim Walkway by the Western Rail Yards. It is an annual, sometimes biennial, ranging in height between two feet in poor, dry soils to eight feet tall in richer, moist soils. The leaves are in alternate arrangement on the st... read more

  • Plant of the Week: Northern maidenhair fern

    By Ayumi Akimoto May 23, 2018
    Adiantum pedatum, also called northern maidenhair fern, is one of my favorite plants that you can find here on the High Line. It is a deciduous perennial plant, and like many ferns, it is in the Pteridaceae family. This fern can grow to 2.5 feet tall and 1.5 feet wide. In the wild, they are na... read more

  • Plant of the Week: Twinleaf

    By Ayumi Akimoto May 7, 2018
    Jeffersonia diphylla, also called twinleaf, can be found at the Gansevoort Woodlands and Tiffany & Company Foundation Overlook. Jeffersonia was named by the botanist Benjamin Smith Barton to honor the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, and it is in the Berberidaceae fa... read more

  • Plant of the Week: Pagoda yellow dogtooth violet

    By Ayumi Akimoto April 19, 2018
    As spring bulbs emerge, the glossy, mottled leaves of a plant called Erythronium 'Pagoda', also called Pagoda yellow dogtooth violet, can be seen. They bloom from mid-April to May. It is in the lily family (Liliaceae), and is also known as trout lily. The common name comes from the trout fi... read more

  • Plant of the Week: Purple prairie clover

    By Yuki Kaneko April 5, 2018
    During our 2018 Spring Cutback, some selected plant species are intentionally left uncut, keeping their dried stems in the plant bed. This experiment is to provide more nesting opportunities and increase habitat for pollinators in the park. Some plants with slender stems are ideal for wild be... read more

  • Plant of the Week: Visions in Pink Chinese astilbe

    By Orrin Sheehan March 16, 2018
    Astilbe chinensis is a rhizomatous perennial belonging to the Saxifragaceae family. As its specific epithet implies, this plant is native to China and usually found growing along streams, rivers, and forest edges. Astilbe prefers consistently moist soil that is high in organic matter. They wil... read more