No such thing as a free lunch? Maybe not! But free fun is another story altogether. Thanks to a collaboration with The Cultural Landscape Foundation, The New York Botanical Garden is joining organizations across New York City for a weekend of exploring the most iconic landscape architecture our metropolis has to offer, and in our case, a special focus on the important design contributions women have made to the Garden’s 120-year history.

It’s called “What’s Out There Weekend,” and it’s likely the largest tour event you’re going to see this year. Just think of it as a giant field trip through the world’s greatest city, where you get to pick and choose your destinations as you go. On October 6 and 7–following the Central Park Woodlands conference on Friday the 5th–the Garden becomes one of 25 organizations across the five boroughs to open their gates, offering expert-led tours to registrants at no cost (unless you count a couple of MetroCard swipes to zip around town).
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Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education.

New York City has made a wonderful commitment to greening up the neighborhood and the High Line is one of its finest examples. It is one of many local initiatives–such as Hudson River Park, Brooklyn Bridge Park, A Million Trees, and Battery City Park–to bring nature back into the urban environment.

The High Line is the reclaimed site of an abandoned railroad track that has been turned into a vibrant park and a magnet for city dwellers. People swarm to the park during their lunch break or after work, and it has rapidly become a premier tourist attraction.

The park is emblematic of good city planning. It has user-friendly peel up benches that rise organically from the walkway and decadent chaise lounges that give a spectacular view of the Hudson. One of my favorite spots is the 10th Avenue viewing station. In an age where we are bombarded by electronic stimulation, the viewing station offers a place to congregate and quietly watch the city moving below.
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