A horticulturist’s green-fingered guide to New York

This article is part of a guide to New York from FT Globetrotter

New York has always been one of my favourite places to visit for its energy, characters and the diversity of interesting elements both horticultural and floral. The Big Apple can seem cluttered and chaotic, but within it there are havens of flourishing plant life among the hustle and bustle.

Every visit to New York for me begins with an early-morning trip to the Flower District on 28th Street in Chelsea, which is nestled in a block between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. From around 5.30am, the vendors arrive to sell mainly to those in the floral trade, and to the public later in the morning. The street is alive with so many different varieties of plants and cut flowers that I am like a kid in a candy store. A favourite shop of mine is Foliage Paradise, where you can purchase an array of delectable topiaries, bonsai and unusual conifers throughout the year. Nearby, G Page Wholesale Flowers sells an unrivalled selection of cut flowers, branches and plants, many of which are from New York state at the height of the season. A beautiful bouquet can be picked up from any of the floral designers based in the district, often packed with colourful and scented local blooms.

A 15-minute walk along West 28th Street past Chelsea Park will take you to Piet Oudolf’s High Line, the public park built on a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side. Saved from demolition by neighbourhood residents and the City of New York, the High Line opened in 2009 as a hybrid public space where visitors experience nature, art, and design. Throughout the year, its plantings are a haven for beneficial insects and birds, planted in Oudolf’s signature prairie drifts. Swaths of colour and seed heads create striking contrast against the cityscape and views of the Hudson River.

For a quick change of scenery, I like to visit the atrium garden in the building of the Ford Foundation in Midtown, where you can view stunning specimens of subtropical plants. With sunlight streaming in on multiple sides, the 160ft-tall atrium holds nearly 40 species of trees, vines, and shrubs. This includes an array of hanging ferns and the most exquisitely scented gardenias. There is also a reflecting pool and a sensory garden with plant life you are encouraged to touch and smell. The lush greenery is also sustained from water collected from the roof of the building; the sound of the fountains reverberating makes you feel like you have entered another world.

A trip to Upper Manhattan to the Met Cloisters museum, the branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe, is always on my list. The collections are shown in four buildings that replicate French monasteries and abbeys; the gardens are set in the cloisters, and feature different collections of medicinal, ornamental and edible plants. I adore the Bonnefont Cloister with its herb garden filled with aroma, scent and colour, often featuring heritage varieties of medicinal plants dating back to medieval times. From the south wall of the Bonnefont garden is an orchard is planted with medieval fruit trees including apples, medlar and quince, which flourish in a spectacular display of spring blossom, underplanted with flowering bulbs. The Trie Cloister is planted with a flowering meadow in summer that’s reminiscent of a tapestry brimming with bright colours and dancing with beneficial insects.

Travelling slightly further north to the Bronx provides an opportunity to visit Wave Hill, a horticultural oasis that feels miles away from New York City. The 28-acre estate has two houses whose gardens are home to a magnificent collection of plants with views across to the Hudson river. The Flower Garden, surrounded by clematis-covered cedar fences, has borders and containers brimming with colour and form in Arts and Crafts planting style, interspersed with obelisks. The TH Everett Alpine House has a fantastic display of alpines from mountainous regions, which acts like a museum of horticulture throughout the year.

One of my favourite spots in the garden is the Paisley Bed, which features an exuberant and colourful planting of annuals and bulbs. A walk through the conservatory always results in me snapping a catalogue of labels of new plant discoveries, and then I head to the Wild Garden, through narrow paths that are surrounded by a managed wilderness of naturalistic planting in the highest point of the garden. If you are an avid twitcher, the diversity of bird life here is something to look out for and I am always excited to spot a hummingbird darting from flower to flower. Finishing the day at the Pergola gives you the opportunity to rest your feet and look at the magnificent views across to the New Jersey Palisades.

Thomas Broom-Hughes is director of horticulture at Petersham Nurseries, London 

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