New York City Gardens

Unseen, far above the gloomy street canyons of the mega-city with its horrendous real-estate prices, there has long been a very special secret tradition of garden culture. The lack of space has meant that gardens designed by imaginative specialists have been drawn upwards, to the light. The luxury of a garden in the city requires ideas that are both individual and practicable, both sober and yet providing camouflage, and which above all make maximum use of the resources available. The concepts may be characterized by views of the river, the skyline, or the urban surroundings, or else by the desire for a refuge from contact with the outside world.
This book embraces the whole spectrum of New York City gardens in all their variety presented by sensational photographs. The author and photographer provide the reader with insights and stunning views otherwise reserved for the owners. Thirty examples, ranging from world-famous botanical gardens and richly re-cultivated public urban space to plantless designer terraces of the gardens for the view, and breathtaking celebrity roof gardens reveal the facets of a garden world characterized by imagination and passion, by colour and form, by verve and pragmatism.
Veronika Hofer directs documentary films, writes books, and curates exhibitions. She has made numerous films about the world’s gardens. Betsy Pinover Schiff trained at the International Center of Photography and the School of Visual Arts in New York before making her name as a specialist in garden and architectural photography.