The High Line Garden in Autumn

high line autumn

Last November, my daughter and I took a spontaneous trip to New York to visit the High Line garden again – only this time in autumn. 

While visiting a garden in the spring and summer is magical, there’s something about a fall garden that grabs my soul. 

Perhaps it’s the perennials taking their sweet time before coming into their own, bursting forth with nectar-rich flowers.  

Maybe it’s the last hurrah for eye-popping fall foliage before the leaves disappear for the season.

Or maybe it’s the slow and gradual fading of summer, embracing the beauty of decay with dried seed heads from perennials and grasses.

Here are some of the highlights of the autumn garden – enjoy!

Late Blooming Perennials

high line autumn
Aster tataricus 'Jindai' (Tatarian aster)
high line autumn
Close-up of the Tatarian aster
high line autumn
Toad Lily (Tricyrtis)
high line fall
Close-up of the Toad Lily flower
high line autumn
Salvia azurea (the tall blue flower)
Aster 'Raydon's Favorite'

Fall Color from Foliage & Berries

high line autumn garden
Amsonia hubrichtii

Amsonia has got to be my #1 favorite fall perennial EVER.

In fact, a few years ago I ordered a few little 4″ pots from Prairie Nursery for a naturally wet area of my new garden, praying they would grow.

Boy, did they!   Take a look, below (and click here to read about the before-and-after transformation of this space.)

Front Entry Garden Makeover
high line autumn
Ilex verticillata ‘Red Sprite. (Winterberry Holly)
Amelanchier arborea (Serviceberry)
high line autumn
Nyssa sylvatica ‘Wildfire’ (Wildfire Black Gum tree)
high line autumn garden
Close-Up of the Wildfire Black Gum tree

Dried Seedheads

high line garden autumn
Sanguisorba seedheads
high line fall garden
Iris domestica (Blackberry Lily)
high line autumn garden
Hibiscus moscheutos ssp. palustris
high line autumn garden
high line garden in fall
high line fall garden
And, of course, the grasses!
high line autumn
high line autumn garden

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing this iconic garden in its off-season.  If you’d like to see how amazing it is during the summer months, click here.

The other incredible fall garden we visited was The Little Island (if you missed my post, click here) 

Fall is fleeting, so we need to seize that fall beauty while we can!   

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12 Comments

  • Hi Rebecca,
    I loved this blog as I do all of yours! I wanted to share with you that In October , two girlfriends and I went East on a trip. One destination was NYC, and I told them I really wanted to go to Little Island that you had done a blog on. Well, we did make it there and it was totally wonderful, filled with beautiful plants, families with children enjoying the day with music and laughter! What a treat to have that touch of nature right in the midst of all the skyscrapers, glass and steel. Thank you for writing about it as I would never have known of it otherwise. I bet the people who live there really enjoy it…and so nice it is FREE!
    Happy Thanksgiving!

    Reply
    • Hi Judith, thank you so much for the comment! I can’t tell you how happy that makes me that you and your friends were able to see this wonderful garden, and it was everything I had touted it to be!! I stumbled upon it while roaming the area and couldn’t believe what a hidden treasure it was. Definitely one of my favorites, ever. I follow them on instagram and it’s so great to see all the special events they hold for the community there – truly an amazing gift for the community. Have a lovely Thanksgiving!

      Reply
  • I love autumn’s colors and your photos from New York and your own garden are just gorgeous Rebecca!

    Reply
    • Happy Thanksgiving, Maia – I hope you’re doing well and glad you’re enjoying my photos! 🙂

      Reply
  • So great to see all the fall colors, and enjoy your photos when I cannot see it in person! It looks look an amazing garden.

    Reply
  • So lovely and inspiring–and fun to see the fall color of plants that we can’t grow in Texas. And I’ll admit, wherever we are, fall is really my favorite season–so much warm and beauty that captivates all the seasons.

    Reply
    • I’m with you, Linda, fall is my very favorite. It seems to disappear the quickest, too, doesn’t it? All the more reason to appreciate every day while it’s here! Happy Thanksgiving!

      Reply
    • I’m so happy you’re not a spambot – ha!!! Thanks, Ishcabibble, you always make me blush. 😉

      Reply
  • thanks..I enjoyed that.. living in Bend, Or. we have already had 16 degree freezing and snow. all our leaves have frozen solid on trees which can make for nasty broken tree branches.
    However it’s just another type of fall.
    thanks again for reminding me what fall does look like.

    Reply
    • Oh, I’m so sorry Eileen – I know so many are having such a rough fall this year! Crazy, crazy weather, that’s for sure.

      Reply

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12 Comments

  • Hi Rebecca,
    I loved this blog as I do all of yours! I wanted to share with you that In October , two girlfriends and I went East on a trip. One destination was NYC, and I told them I really wanted to go to Little Island that you had done a blog on. Well, we did make it there and it was totally wonderful, filled with beautiful plants, families with children enjoying the day with music and laughter! What a treat to have that touch of nature right in the midst of all the skyscrapers, glass and steel. Thank you for writing about it as I would never have known of it otherwise. I bet the people who live there really enjoy it…and so nice it is FREE!
    Happy Thanksgiving!

    Reply
    • Hi Judith, thank you so much for the comment! I can’t tell you how happy that makes me that you and your friends were able to see this wonderful garden, and it was everything I had touted it to be!! I stumbled upon it while roaming the area and couldn’t believe what a hidden treasure it was. Definitely one of my favorites, ever. I follow them on instagram and it’s so great to see all the special events they hold for the community there – truly an amazing gift for the community. Have a lovely Thanksgiving!

      Reply
  • I love autumn’s colors and your photos from New York and your own garden are just gorgeous Rebecca!

    Reply
    • Happy Thanksgiving, Maia – I hope you’re doing well and glad you’re enjoying my photos! 🙂

      Reply
  • So great to see all the fall colors, and enjoy your photos when I cannot see it in person! It looks look an amazing garden.

    Reply
  • So lovely and inspiring–and fun to see the fall color of plants that we can’t grow in Texas. And I’ll admit, wherever we are, fall is really my favorite season–so much warm and beauty that captivates all the seasons.

    Reply
    • I’m with you, Linda, fall is my very favorite. It seems to disappear the quickest, too, doesn’t it? All the more reason to appreciate every day while it’s here! Happy Thanksgiving!

      Reply
    • I’m so happy you’re not a spambot – ha!!! Thanks, Ishcabibble, you always make me blush. 😉

      Reply
  • thanks..I enjoyed that.. living in Bend, Or. we have already had 16 degree freezing and snow. all our leaves have frozen solid on trees which can make for nasty broken tree branches.
    However it’s just another type of fall.
    thanks again for reminding me what fall does look like.

    Reply
    • Oh, I’m so sorry Eileen – I know so many are having such a rough fall this year! Crazy, crazy weather, that’s for sure.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

12 Comments

  • Hi Rebecca,
    I loved this blog as I do all of yours! I wanted to share with you that In October , two girlfriends and I went East on a trip. One destination was NYC, and I told them I really wanted to go to Little Island that you had done a blog on. Well, we did make it there and it was totally wonderful, filled with beautiful plants, families with children enjoying the day with music and laughter! What a treat to have that touch of nature right in the midst of all the skyscrapers, glass and steel. Thank you for writing about it as I would never have known of it otherwise. I bet the people who live there really enjoy it…and so nice it is FREE!
    Happy Thanksgiving!

    Reply
    • Hi Judith, thank you so much for the comment! I can’t tell you how happy that makes me that you and your friends were able to see this wonderful garden, and it was everything I had touted it to be!! I stumbled upon it while roaming the area and couldn’t believe what a hidden treasure it was. Definitely one of my favorites, ever. I follow them on instagram and it’s so great to see all the special events they hold for the community there – truly an amazing gift for the community. Have a lovely Thanksgiving!

      Reply
  • I love autumn’s colors and your photos from New York and your own garden are just gorgeous Rebecca!

    Reply
    • Happy Thanksgiving, Maia – I hope you’re doing well and glad you’re enjoying my photos! 🙂

      Reply
  • So great to see all the fall colors, and enjoy your photos when I cannot see it in person! It looks look an amazing garden.

    Reply
  • So lovely and inspiring–and fun to see the fall color of plants that we can’t grow in Texas. And I’ll admit, wherever we are, fall is really my favorite season–so much warm and beauty that captivates all the seasons.

    Reply
    • I’m with you, Linda, fall is my very favorite. It seems to disappear the quickest, too, doesn’t it? All the more reason to appreciate every day while it’s here! Happy Thanksgiving!

      Reply
    • I’m so happy you’re not a spambot – ha!!! Thanks, Ishcabibble, you always make me blush. 😉

      Reply
  • thanks..I enjoyed that.. living in Bend, Or. we have already had 16 degree freezing and snow. all our leaves have frozen solid on trees which can make for nasty broken tree branches.
    However it’s just another type of fall.
    thanks again for reminding me what fall does look like.

    Reply
    • Oh, I’m so sorry Eileen – I know so many are having such a rough fall this year! Crazy, crazy weather, that’s for sure.

      Reply

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Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *