Wave Hill - The Secret Garden

Wave Hill wasn't the first place I visited in NYC but it is my favorite so far!  

This Sunday I was looking for a refuge from the frantic pace of city life and decided on Wave Hill.  I was drawn both by the beautiful photos on their website and by the idea that it would be easy to get to (see below).

In the flower garden.

Wave Hill is technically just a short ride across across the East River from Manhattan but it feels like it's an ocean away from the concrete jungle.  Entering the gardens made me so happy that I just sat down in one of the many lawn chairs scattered about the grounds and didn't move for an hour.  Later, as I walked the garden paths and the wooded trail I felt an extreme sense of relief that someplace so calm could be found so close to my new home.  I have a feeling I'll be headed here frequently to de-stress and think.

The Pergola at Wave Hill

I think my favorite part of the visit was while I was sitting under the pergola drinking an iced coffee (only $2!).  I was looking out at a beautiful view of the Palisaides on the far side of the Hudson (where I work at LDEO) when a little girl came along and said to her mother, "smell this one too."  It wasn't until she spoke that I realized I had been sort of closing off my nose and breathing through my mouth.  Not a particularly attractive habit, but necessary in many parts of NYC where dogs pee all over the sidewalk and people don't understand the purpose a trashcan.

My favorite.

Those of you getting excited about my organizational scheme (that's everyone right?) will have noticed that I tagged this post "Art."  Wave Hill is also home to an art gallery but I'm afraid I wasn't much impressed.  The reason for the tag has more to do with the fact that I kept thinking that if I were a textile designer that I would be having a field day.  Everywhere I looked I saw patterns in the flowers and trees.  Needless to say I took about a zillion pictures.

Subway map.

The Details

Getting there: Take the 1 train going uptown to the end of the line at 242nd street (Van Cortland Park).  Leave the subway station and walk north to the Burger King parking lot.  Free shuttles to Wave Hill leave at 10 past, every hour.
Cost: Student Admission is $4, regular admission $8.  Free admission every Tuesday and Saturday mornings from 9 to noon.
Summer Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 9:00-5:30.