Home > Books > Book details

Gardens of the High Line: Elevating the Nature of Modern Landscapes

By Piet Oudolf and Rick Darke

A wholly enchanting celebration of the transformation of one sliver of urban industrial landscape.

Booklist, starred review

Before it was restored, the High Line was an untouched, abandoned landscape overgrown with wildflowers. Today it is much more than that; it’s a central plaza, a cultural center, a walkway, and a green retreat in a bustling city that is free for all to enjoy. But above all else, it is a beautiful, dynamic garden with plantings designed by Piet Oudolf, one of the world’s most extraordinary garden designers. Gardens of the High Line, by Piet Oudolf and Rick Darke, offers an in-depth view into the planting designs, plant palette, and maintenance of this landmark achievement. It reveals a four-season garden that is filled with native and exotic plants, drought-tolerant perennials, and grasses that thrive and spread. It also offers inspiration and advice to home gardeners and garden designers looking to recreate its iconic, naturalistic style. Featuring stunning photographs by Rick Darke and an introduction by Robert Hammond, the founder of the Friends of the High Line, this large-trim, photo-driven book is a must-have for anyone who appreciates the nature of design.

Filed under: garden tour, new books, travel, garden design, landscape architecture, photography

Format: Paperback
Pages: 320 pp.
Book dimensions: 9 x 12 in. (305 x 230 mm.)
Images: 400 color photos
ISBN-10: 1604696990
ISBN-13: 9781604696998
Product code: 689699

Media reviews

"[Starred review] A wholly enchanting celebration of the transformation of one sliver of urban industrial landscape."

—Booklist

"Lavishly illustrated."

—Mother Nature Network

"Provides a richly illustrated and informative tour through the total expanse of the High Line.…Whether you are a repeat visitor to this unique park or preparing for your initial tour, this book is an engaging and helpful guide. Studying its photographs made me eager to plan yet another visit. I’m willing to bet it will have the same effect on you."

—Gardenista

About the authors

Piet Oudolf

Piet Oudolf is among the world's most innovative garden designers and a leading exponent of naturalistic planting, a style that takes inspiration from nature but employs artistic skill in creating planting schemes. Oudolf's extensive work over 30 years of practice includes public and private gardens all over the world. He is best known for his work on the High Line and Battery Park in New York, the Lurie Garden in Chicago's Millennium Park, Potters Field in London, and his own private garden at Hummelo in the Netherlands.

Rick Darke

Rick Darke is a landscape design consultant, author, lecturer, and photographer based in Pennsylvania who blends art, ecology, and cultural geography in the creation and conservation of livable landscapes. Darke served on the staff of Longwood Gardens for twenty years, and in 1998 he received the Scientific Award of the American Horticultural Society.