Inside Washington Heights’s Fort Tryon Park, tucked into the northwest corner of Manhattan, the Heather Garden contains pathways of peace. With more than 550 varieties of plants to observe, the garden thrives year round, providing unparalleled colorful beauty, with fresh smells and unique western views of the Hudson River from over 200 feet above. The garden is located just forty feet west of the entrance to the park on Fort Washington Avenue, across the street from the 190th street A train subway station. Open year round, easy to access, with such beautiful views, any day is a perfect day to visit the Heather Garden.
Fort Tryon Park is located in Washington Heights, a neighborhood defined by its diversity and welcoming nature. According to my father Robert Grossberg, a 13 year resident of Washington Heights and a native New Yorker, my family moved here in 2008 because, “We were looking for a place that was still in Manhattan but where we might be able to afford a larger apartment. We also found that the neighborhood was nice, quiet, and very family friendly.” The neighborhood itself is relatively large. It spans from 155th Street to Dyckman Street, across the entire width of the island. Given its relatively low prices, the neighborhood has recently become more gentrified, an area of concern for middle and working class residents, as well as the many small, family owned businesses in the neighborhood.
There are also an abundance of housing options including smaller buildings and walk-ups to larger buildings and complexes. Many of the larger buildings are sectioned off by the real estate industry in an area labeled “Hudson Heights,” which is north of 173rd street and west of Broadway, to separate this section of the neighborhood. Hudson Heights has a much larger white population than the rest of the neighborhood.
Lin Manuel Miranda’s musical In the Heights, which was recently adapted into a film, captures the essence of the neighborhood perfectly. It has historically been a home for immigrant communities. In the early-mid 1900s, it hosted many Eastern European and German Jews. As a result, there is a lingering Jewish community, including Yeshiva University within Washington Heights. However, there is now also a large Hispanic community, and one section of the neighborhood is called “Little Dominican Republic.” According to an NYU study in 2019, 67.9% of Washington Heights and Inwood residents were Hispanic. Given this melting pot, from just walking down one block, a plethora of languages can be heard, from Russian to Spanish to English.
Additionally, with Columbia Presbytarian in the neighborhood, many healthcare workers, including my mother, dwell in the area to stay close to work.
My mother, Marina Catallozzi, said “I like that it is a very diverse neighborhood historically known for always having new immigrant groups. Because my parents were immigrants I feel like it carries that story of my family. I like that it is a combination of an urban environment and more natural greenery. From street to street it varies from a bustling to more quiet environment. I also love that so many people are able to live here that would otherwise not be able to live in Manhattan. It is so easy to get out of the city from here because it is so close to the bridge and highway.”
Another component of the neighborhood, one that I am especially grateful for, is its easy access to subways, including the 1, A and C trains. It is a transport nexus that is narrow, but one that goes all the way down to the southern tip of Manhattan to Brooklyn, up to Van Cortlandt Park, and can open up into any of the five boroughs with easy access to larger stations.
In the northernmost part of the Heights lies Fort Tryon Park: a 67 acre plot of greenery, with walking paths and beautiful views. It is named for New York’s British colonial governor and war General William Tryon. The park opened in 1935 and was funded largely by John D. Rockefeller Jr., who gave the opening day speech and was passionate about parks and architecture, as well as the NYC Parks department. Robert Moses, the mastermind behind many of New York City’s parks, was the Commissioner of NYC Parks at this time. However, it was designed by architect Fredrick Law Olmstead Jr. The most popular attraction inside of the park is The Cloisters, a medieval branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The park is in a quieter area of the neighborhood, making it a perfect place to relax and unwind from the busy city. My brother Luca Grossberg (6th grade) appreciates the tranquility of the area. “I like that it is still in the city but it is quieter than a lot of other parts of the city.”
The aforementioned Heather Garden is a particularly community-friendly and unique aspect of the area. It draws in many individual personalities and perspectives. On a walk to the Heather Garden, I spoke with Luis Campos, a Washington Heights resident and Heather Garden admirer. “I try to come here every day, but usually come two to three times per week. I like to look at the pretty plants and views, but I also come for the exercise. My wife and I try to take 5,000 steps per day, but sometimes we get more.”
There are three paths through the Heather Garden, the top path, the Stan Michaels Promenade, the middle, conveniently named the Center Path and Allison’s Walk, which is closest to the Hudson River. In between the three paths there are two areas filled with plants. The map below shows the somewhat chaotic layout of the garden. It allows for a new flower with every step. The red numbers are plants that bloom in fall, the blue are winter, the green are spring and the yellow are summer. The plantings include flowers, shrubs, trees and heather.
(taken from https://www.forttryonparktrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Heather-Garden-Guide.pdf)
“I come here for the plants called Salvias. They bring the hummingbirds, and sometimes I see them. I am here to look at them” added Campos. Salvias are tall sage flowers planted throughout the Heather Garden. Salvias bud throughout summer and bloom in the fall.
Salvias in the Heather Garden
Many, including Campos, use cameras to capture the natural beauty of the area. “Four years ago I did not have a camera but I saw other people taking pictures of the flowers. I bought mine to capture the hummingbirds and I like to save the pictures.”
Entering the Heather Garden is like entering an oasis. According to Vicky Elkins, a 14 year resident of Washington Heights, “There’s space, nature, and beautiful views. Once you step in it’s like taking a rest.”
Catallozzi also enjoys this sense of calm. “I feel a sense of peace and transformation. There are two pathways around it and then there’s the walkway in the Heather Garden. I feel like when I walk in the Heather Garden it’s very calming. The other people there are also just really enjoying it. You can tell there are people there who are not from this neighborhood and are kind of surprised that it exists and then there are the people who just enjoy it and are very proud of it.”
At the same time, she added, “I like that there’s sort of a disorganization to the garden. Just by taking one step you can see a new smell or flower. And every week because things bloom differently it’s sort of new from week to week.”
My father said “In a way I feel transported when I enter, somehow out of the urban setting into this serene pasture of flowers and grasses.”
“What really strikes me is how it smells. In New York City I encounter a lot of smells but they are rarely nice smells. The Heather Garden has a pleasant smell from all of the flowers,” he added.
“I hear the birds chirping and smell plants. It makes me feel connected to nature, truly a majestic feeling,” Luca added.
A picture of the Heather Garden during the fall
Throughout the pandemic, the Heather Garden has been a beacon of light and hope for my family. On my regular walks during quarantine and the last remote school year, I would stroll from my apartment building on 190th and Fort Washington up to the park, and was immediately enamored with the flora each time. Every day there was a new flower, smell or tree that I noticed. If I was alone and no people were near me, sometimes I would remove my mask and pause my music, just for a moment, to feel each and every sensation that I could.
My father said, “Especially during the Pandemic in the early part, when it was almost scary to go outside, we took some walks in the Heather Garden because it was close and serene and it seemed unchanged by the pandemic.”
Elkins, a frequent visitor of the Heather Garden agreed. “It really saved me during the pandemic.”
Her dog Nemo barked in agreement.
I spoke to a new mother who said “I enjoy bringing my eight month old daughter here and pointing out all of the plants and flowers so that she can see them all.” Since her daughter was born during the pandemic, she has relied on the Heather Garden to get her outside. “We wouldn’t be able to do that and it is not that crowded which is nice,” she added.
Another mother I spoke to, whose children are now in college, said “My kids used to call it the squirrel house since there were so many squirrels. They would choose where the squirrels’ bedrooms and kitchens were.” She also stated that she had always hoped to garden with her children.
My father said “One thing I’ve always wanted to go to was called the Shearing of the Heather in which members of the community come and watch people cut the flowers that are overgrown. Though I confess I have never participated in that, it is a great way to engage the community.”
The Shearing of the Heather occurs annually in the spring and features a parade. Participants can take home pieces from the “largest heath and heather collection in the northeast.”
